Life As We Knew It
by IceCreamAndPizza
Summary: JTP sequel: A locket stolen form Team Rocket ends up in Charlie's hands, thanks to a stranger with the initials LP. Working with an unidentified stranger, she must use the locket to fix a mistake made long ago. But this locket contains powers that Team Rocket seeks to possess. And when Grayson comes across a mysterious trainer passed out near his house, things get even stranger.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

* * *

_Oh, for the sacrifice you made_  
_And all the gifts you gave_  
_I'll always remember you_

Kneeling down, a young woman placed a hat on the ground in front of her. There were already many flowers and various Pokemon paraphernalia scattered around the hat, but the girl couldn't help but think her hat meant more than the other items. Sitting down, she let the Pikachu on her shoulder crawl down into her lap, where she wrapped her arms around it and pulled it close. Today was just one of those days where she needed to be able to pull the Pikachu close and find comfort in the one thing she treasured more than anything in the world.

Noticing the sad look on its trainer's face, Pikachu let the girl pull him close as he rested his head on her arm. Just like her, today was one the hardest days he had to face throughout the year. And while he knew the girl needed him, in truth, Pikachu knew that the two of them needed each other to face this day. He knew that the two of them weren't the only ones who had trouble getting through this day, or that they were the only ones greatly affected by the loss they had experienced.

It was that they had a special bond with the person they had lost, that very few of the others shared. For the girl, the man had been her father and the one who had refused to abandon her when her mother had left. She'd known very little about him, but through the years, his effect on her had significantly grown when she had learned how much he had sacrificed to be there for her. For Pikachu, it had been the man whose side he had spent practically his entire life by. They'd gone through so much together, and Pikachu had grown to love the man as much as he knew the man loved him.

"I can't believe it's been thirteen years," Charlie said to the gravestone in front of her. Despite the fact that when she had first started talking out loud like this, she had thought she sounded crazy, she had gotten over it through the years. Now, talking to her dad as if he was there seemed second nature to her. It was just something she did because it made her feel better, and she'd always believed that he could hear her. "And it's been eight years since I first found this place. It feels like just yesterday I was sitting here, one envelope away from finishing your scavenger hunt."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu remarked.

"Yeah," Charlie replied, giggling a bit. "It was always fun to see what new surprises were awaiting me, but I think, in the end, it was your friends who got the real surprise." Smiling quietly to herself, Charlie let the memories of when her dad's friends uncovered who she was flash through her mind. The most memorable had been Dawn, who had started freaking out, while people like Brock, Tracey, and Iris, who, while initially surprised at who she was, seemed to quickly accept it and move on. "They're still crazy, though, and they still argue over what I'm going to do. Oh, and, so you know, they've taken your request to watch over me very seriously-especially Brock. I'm pretty sure that when I was traveling, he called me more than Jessie and James."

Sighing, Charlie let her chin rest on Pikachu's head. Staring straight ahead, for what felt like the millionth time, Charlie read the words on the gravestone. While they were pretty much the same as when she'd first come across her father's grave in Pallet Town, there had been a single, yet important, change made on the grave.

_Ash Ketchum_

_1982-2006_

_Friend, Son, Trainer, Father_

Seeing the final word Ms. Ketchum requested to be placed on the gravestone, Charlie couldn't help but smile. Now everyone who visited his grave could not only learn about his accomplishments as a trainer, but they could also learn about, in her opinion, his most important role. While she could never deny how cool it was to know her dad had been a popular trainer amongst the battling community, his impact on her as her father had a greater lasting effect.

"We brought you another hat," Charlie told her dad's grave. When she was younger and she started coming to visit her dad's grave in Pallet, she had always wanted to bring something sentimental to leave there for him. She knew most people like her grandmother usually brought flowers, but she wanted something that would represent her dad and have meaning and connection to who he was as a person. When she had visited her grandmother one day, though, the idea of leaving a hat for her dad had hit her when she came across his vast collection her grandmother had left in his room. So, each year following, she would bring her dad a new hat when she would come to visit him on the day she had lost him long ago. "Pikachu helped pick it out, right buddy?"

"Pi!" Pikachu chirped back.

Patting the Pokemon on the head, Charlie moved on to talking about other things on her mind. "As you can see, Pikachu and I have yet to find a way to bring you back," she explained. "But you always told me never to give up, so we're still searching. One of these years, I promise you I'll never have to come back to this place again." Clenching her fist in frustration, Charlie clamped her eyes shut. "I'll be able to talk to you in person, and this day will never have the same meaning it does now."

No matter how many times she told herself she wouldn't react this way, the feelings always seemed unavoidable. If it hadn't been for Team Rocket, she would never be dreading this day, nor would she be feeling such thoughts of anger and revenge. On this day thirteen years ago, they'd taken away the most important person in her life. She knew other people lost their parents, and that she wasn't the only one, but it just wasn't fair. He was supposed to be here with her; she wasn't supposed to be sitting here.

"I know I've told you this a million times, but I miss you so much." With these words, she felt the sting of tears as they started to build up in her eyes. Feeling a drop on his head, Pikachu looked up to see Charlie slowly starting to cry. And as if it was her go to instinct during a time like this, she pulled Pikachu even tighter and buried her face into his fur. "You and I, we were two of a kind. I might have told you this before, but if I didn't, I want you to know that I'm proud to be your daughter."

She was proud, even if people finding out who she was had changed her life a bit. Her dad had done so much for people, and even years later, she would come across someone who had a story to tell her of the time her dad had stopped to help them out when no one else would. Plus, she had gotten to live with and be raised by someone many people dreamed about meeting. She couldn't help but think that was pretty cool. She knew people probably compared her to her dad or expected her to be just like him, but she wanted to be her own person, too. She'd still try to copy the things her dad did for people and his kindness toward others, but she didn't want to be him. In her mind, she never could.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. I beat Misty again yesterday," Charlie told him, trying her best to smile through her tears. Her smile grew as she recalled the battle she had shared with the notorious Cerulean City Gym Leader. "She got so mad when I beat her, too. When she finally cooled off, she told me she was so mad because losing to me felt like losing to you, which, apparently, is on her top ten list of things she hates. It's shortly after bugs, carrots and peppers, which, by the way, she still hates."

"Pikachupi pi pika!" Pikachu remarked.

"Hey! I didn't know she was going to do that!" Charlie snapped back at the electric Pokemon. With a few more comments from Pikachu, Charlie's annoyance only grew. "It's not my fault! If she's done it before to you and my dad, than you should have known. After all, you guys have known each other longer than I've known either of you." Sighing, Charlie just shook her head, too tired to argue with Pikachu. "In case you're wondering, Dad, Pikachu's mad because he lost when Misty called out her baby Mudkip."

"Pi…Cha," Pikachu huffed, lowering his head in sadness.

Giggling at Pikachu's reaction, Charlie patted his head. "It's okay, Pikachu," she assured him. "I'm not mad at you. I wouldn't have had you attack a baby Pokemon, especially one you're such good friends with. Misty was just playing a dirty trick."

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded in agreement. He really did love Misty, and he knew she would never purposely put her Pokemon in harms way like that, but she hated losing just as much as Ash.

Breathing in and then out, Charlie racked her brain for something to tell her dad. When she had come to visit his grave, she had hoped talking to him and telling him all the good things that had happened would help. While she wasn't going to sit there and deny what had happened to her dad, she didn't want to think about the events that had led to his murder. Even years later, she still had the occasional nightmare of watching her dad fall from his Pidgeot, so it wasn't like she'd ever forget what happened.

"Grayson's still dating Morgan," Charlie stated, this being the only thing she could think of. While she wouldn't describe it as something good that had happened to her, it was something that didn't focus on what had happened thirteen years ago today. "I don't mean to sound rude, but I don't really know what he sees in her. I mean, I can see what she sees in him…At least, I think I do. I know we're really good friends, but I can't help but think we could be more than that." For a moment, Charlie let her thoughts of Grayson disappear as a more relatable story crossed her mind. "Is that how you felt about Misty? About Ruby?"

While she had known the truth behind her parent's relationship for a while, there was still that small part of her that believed they had, at one point, actually been in love. Although Ruby hadn't traveled with Ash like Misty had, Ash had spent just as much time with Ruby as he had with Misty, and both women had referred to him as one of their best friends. To Charlie, it just felt natural that, at one point in time, two friends could reach a point in their friendship where they fell for each other-or at least one of them would. Plus, if her dad had never met Misty, Charlie had a feeling he would have ended up with Ruby anyway. And, why else would her dad be willing to marry her mom when, deep down, he already knew he was in love with someone? Maybe he really just want to do what was best for her, but Charlie couldn't help but believe a part of him had loved Ruby enough to do something like that. Then again, although she wouldn't really admit this to anyone, Charlie had always dreamed about a fairy tale ending where her parents had gotten married and lived happily, ever after with her.

That didn't mean she disliked the idea of her dad and Misty together. If anything, Misty was someone in her life whom she wanted to see something go right for. She could see how much Misty loved her dad, and, in all honesty, Charlie always prayed what had happened to Misty never happened to her. While the fiery tempered gym leader typically held back her feelings when she was around others, Charlie was one of the few people who saw the effect her dad's death had on Misty. It wasn't as if she was helpless or unable to carry on. She just seemed to have these moments when those cracks in her heart seemed to rise to the surface. And while Misty continued to assure Charlie that she was happy she was around, a part of Charlie couldn't help but think only seeing her made it harder for Charlie, especially now that she resembled her dad even more than before.

"She really loves you, you know? Misty that is," Charlie explained, moving on to a topic she often discussed with her dad, but had always wanted to discuss with him in person. "I can see why you love her, too. Just like you said, once you get to know her, she's really a great person. I know I've told you this before, but she's probably my favorite friend of yours," Charlie admitted. "I really do love the others, but no matter what, Misty's always there for me to talk to. And if I ever have any question about you, she always answers them honestly and without sugar coating anything. I know it's tough for her when I ask about you and her relationship with you, but she always answer them, even if the answer isn't necessarily a happy one. She doesn't ever ask me why I want to know either. I think she understands that I only ask because I want to know more about you."

Sighing, Charlie stood up as she brushed the dirt off her shorts. "People sure brought a lot of stuff," she muttered as she skimmed over the various items people had left at her dad's grave. There were flowers, little trinkets that looked like Pikachu, plastic toys that looked like various Pokeballs, and even a pair of fingerless gloves. Most were probably from the people of Pallet, but she knew there were still those people outside of Pallet who still remembered their favorite trainer. Buried amongst the flowers, though, was a small manila envelope. Grabbing the envelope from the flowers, Charlie glanced over the front to see if it was meant for her dad. When she read the name on the envelope, however, she furrowed her eyes in confusion. "It's for me."

"Pika?" Pikachu inquired as he hopped on Charlie's shoulder to get a closer look.

"Nobody's ever left anything for me before," Charlie stated, flipping the envelope around in her hands. Kneeling back down, Charlie swung her bag forward and opened it, slipping the envelope inside. "We can open it up later at Grandma's."

With that said, Charlie sung her bag back onto her bag as she stood back up and headed toward the exit. Although she would have liked to stay a bit longer, she knew her grandma was waiting for her, and that if she took too long, she might start to worry something happened to her. Charlie knew nothing would probably happen to her, but her grandma was super protective of her. Sometimes she was even more protective than Brock. While Charlie could understand her grandmother's protectiveness about her, that didn't mean it drove her crazy sometimes.

OOOO

"Grandma!" Charlie called as her and Pikachu made their way into her house, "we're home!"

Making her way into the hallway, Ms. Ketchum let out a tiny sigh of relief. Now that Charlie had made it back safely, she no longer had to worry. "How'd it go dear?" Ms. Ketchum asked her granddaughter.

Mustering up the best smile she could, Charlie replied with, "It went well." _At least, as well as something like that could have gone._ "I think I'm going to go lay down for a little bit, though."

"Oh. Are you feeling alright dear?"

Charlie didn't want her grandmother to have to worry about her, but she really needed an excuse to check out what was in the envelope. "I'm just tired," Charlie replied. To make her story more convincing, she let out a tiny yawn. "It's just…It's been a long day."

Nodding in understanding, Ms. Ketchum gave Charlie a sympathetic look. Indeed it had been a long day for her-for everyone involved. When Ms. Ketchum had woken up this morning and realized what day it was, it had taken every ounce of her strength to get out of bed. And to prevent herself from curling up in bed for the rest of the day, she had continued to find distractions for herself all day. It took a lot out of her to constantly be doing things, so she could understand how Charlie would be tired already.

"I'll come get you when dinner's ready, alright?"

"Okay."

With one last glance at her Grandmother, Charlie turned around and headed upstairs. Making her way through the hallway, she passed by the guest room and her grandmother's room before stopping at the last door. Twisting the knob, she pushed the door open and walked inside without any hint of fear or sadness. Shutting the door behind her, she let her feet guide her way as they led her over to her dad's bed. Plopping down on the blue comforter, she scooted back a bit and pulled her legs into a pretzel.

Setting her bag in her lap, she opened it up and pulled out the envelope before shutting it and tossing it to the side. Pulling of the seal that kept the envelope closed, Charlie tipped the envelope upside down and poured its contents into her hand. Out fell a shiny, circle-shaped, gold necklace and a folded up a piece of paper. Stuffing the envelope under her arm, Charlie held the locket in one hand, using the other to unfold the piece of paper.

_The two of you must work together to fix a mistake that cost a man the biggest adventure of his life. But don't forget: magic can only take you so far; the rest you must achieve on your own. Even miracles take some time, Charlie._

_-LP_

_Great, _Charlie groaned inwardly. _The riddles have returned. This is ridiculous. _

"Pikachu, who's LP?" Charlie asked. "And who the heck am I supposed to work with?" Having no clue either who LP was or who Charlie was supposed to work with, Pikachu gave a tiny shrug in reply. Placing the paper back into the envelope, Charlie stuck it back under her elbow so she could focus on the locket. After twisting it around in her hands, she finally found a small clasp that, when she flipped it, caused the locket to pop open. Pulling the locket all the way to open, she took a moment to examine the inside, hoping it would have more answers than the paper that had come with it. "Leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy. All you have to do is ask," Charlie read aloud the words inscribed on the inside of the locket. "Hmm…I wonder what that means."

Once again, however, Pikachu was just as stumped as Charlie. He knew he'd met a lot of people in his life, but he couldn't remember ever coming across someone with the initials LP, or at least someone significant with those initials. "Pikachu, pi pika?"

"I don't know," Charlie replied as she twisted the locket around some more, seeing if there was anything more she could learn about it. "It just says if I ask it something, it will answer me. I would assume I have to ask it a question, but I have no idea what that will do. Maybe it's like a Magic Eight Ball or something!"

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Charlie answered back. If she wanted to know how the locket functioned, the only way she could find out is if she tested it. The only problem was, surprisingly, she couldn't think of a question to ask. Sure, she had a lot of things she wanted to know, but she wanted to make this question count. Grabbing the piece of paper once more, Charlie read over the note, seeing if there were any clues as to how the locket and the note were connected. Obviously, the person who wrote the note had given her the locket, and she was somehow supposed to use the locket to change a mistake somehow had made long ago. But who was the man? "I know! Yeah, so… um…locket…err, LP-whoever you are-tell me who the man mentioned in the note is! Please."

Time continued to pass by as Charlie sat there staring at the locket, waiting for it to answer her question. While she didn't know how the answer would be revealed, she couldn't help but imagine it would magically appear on the other side of the locket. When a few seconds had passed by without any reaction from the locket, Charlie suddenly shook it, convinced it might actually work like a Magic Eight Ball. Again, nothing happened, and Charlie began to feel a bit silly sitting there while she waited for the locket to tell her something. _Maybe I should have asked it whom I'm supposed to work with…_ Just when she was about to give up and call it quits, though, a blue light suddenly shot out of the locket. Dropping the locket and the envelope on the ground, Charlie used her empty hands to shield her eyes from the blinding light.

Within seconds, however, the light vanished and Charlie slowly opened her eyes. As she did, shock and confusion ran through her as she realized she was no longer in her dad's room. In fact, she had no idea where she was. Thankfully, though, Pikachu was still perched on her shoulder, unharmed but a little frazzled. Sighing in relief, Charlie took a moment to survey her surroundings to try and figure out where she had ended up. While it quickly became pretty clear she was on a path near a forest, that didn't exactly narrow down where she was. She wasn't even sure if she was in Kanto anymore.

"I say we follow this path for a bit and see if we come across a sign," Charlie suggested as a way to start out. As she went to head down the path, though, she spotted the locket and the envelope on the ground in front of her. Picking them up, she placed the envelope in her bag and the locket around her neck. "Stupid locket didn't do anything. I bet it just teleports you to somewhere you can get what you want. If that's the case, I should have just asked it for food or something."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, his body suddenly going into alert mode. Thanks to his keen hearing, he could sense something was headed their way.

"What is it?" Charlie asked, instantly noticing the change in Pikachu.

Sticking his tail straight up, his pointy ears twitched back and forth as he tried to listen for any signs of danger. Occasionally, he even let out a few warning sparks of electricity. Before Charlie could ask him anymore, though, he leaped off her shoulder and started running the other way. Even though Charlie knew she should follow Pikachu without question, she took a second to glance back the way he had run from. And that's when she saw it. Up ahead a flock of Spearow was headed her way, as they chased a kid on a bike. As the flock of Spearow and the boy got closer, though, her body suddenly froze. She knew she should have followed Pikachu when he had sprinted off.

As the kid on the bike got closer to Charlie, the look of determination that had once been on his face, quickly turned into one of confusion. Was the girl blind, or was she that dumb that she didn't see the flock of Spearow coming her way? She was just standing there, frozen, like a Stantler in headlights.

"Run!" he yelled, hoping maybe that would break through the girl. If she didn't move, he would probably hit her, because he would be unable to stop at the rate he was peddling. He'd already ticked off a bunch of Spearow and stolen a girl's bike today. He didn't want to be responsible for running a girl over, too. When she didn't move again, his voice only grew more panicky. "Hurry!"

Not needing to be told twice, Charlie ran off the path and into some nearby trees she had seen Pikachu jump in. Since it looked like the Spearow were pretty determined on chasing the boy, she figured she'd probably be safer if she hid behind some bushes where it would be harder for them to find her. As the boy got closer, Charlie and Pikachu peeked through the bushes, trying to figure out what was going on. She really did hope the boy would be able to get away. Spearows were known for being mean. Just when it looked like they were going to continue on past them, though, the boy ran over a rock, causing him to lose control of his bike and be sent flying through the air. Landing a few feet in front of Charlie and Pikachu, both seemed to feel the air rush out of them as they took in the boy's appearance.

"Oh my god," Charlie gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Pikachu, that's…that's…"

"Pikapi."

"…my dad."


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

* * *

_We mustn't loose sight of one thing: that it all started with a mouse. _

_-Walt Disney_

Charlie watched in shock as her dad and Pikachu landed hard on the dirt path. For as second, she thought they might not get up, but then her dad lifted his head, frantically searching for Pikachu. Charlie had seen a picture of her dad when he was young, but seeing the real thing felt completely different to her. Although when she had known him, he hadn't really been that old, she couldn't help but think he looked especially young now. He was wearing his blue vest ad his famous Pokemon League hat that was turned backward on his head. Looking at him some more, Charlie finally began to understand why some of his friends had always told her she reminded them of her dad when he was young.

"Pikachu!" her dad yelled, spotting him only a few feet ahead of him. He was still in pain from crashing on the ground, but he ignored it and crawled over to Pikachu, kneeling in front of him. Resting his hand on top of Pikachu, he gasped, taken back by the extent of Pikachu's injuries. "Pikachu," he hugged, trying to ignore the pain and shock he was experiencing. Already weak from being attacked by the Spearow and jumping off the waterfall, Pikachu looked even worse, "this can't happen."

So lost in watching what was going on, Charlie felt herself jump when a huge bolt of lightening struck only a few yards away from her. She hadn't even realized it was raining, let alone thunder storming. This sudden strike of lightening also brought Ash back to his senses, as he turned around only to spot the flock of Spearow hovering above him.

Even though Charlie knew the Spearow couldn't see her, she couldn't help but be slightly afraid of their menacing looks.

Turning back to Pikachu, Ash pulled out Pikachu's Pokeball. "Pikachu, get inside," h commanded him. Pushing the Pokeball closer to Pikachu, he enlarged it in his hand. "I know you're afraid of going in there, but you're inside, maybe I can save you. Please Pikachu, please listen to me and go inside."

Hearing her dad's voice as he pleaded with Pikachu, Charlie found herself feeling sick to her stomach. It had been a while since she heard her dad's voice sound like that, but just the tone of it took her back to the one day she had been visiting the graveyard in the first place. The pleading in his voice indicated that he had run out of options, and that this was the only way he could solve the problem. She remembered it as the voice he had used to assure her everything would be okay, and that Team Rocket would keep her safe. It was the same voice that sometimes haunted her; it was the one that meant he was going sacrifice himself to save someone else.

"After that then…" Ash's words caught in his throat as he started to choke up, trying to stay brave for Pikachu, even though he was pretty scared. To combat what he was feeling, he raised his voice, "…after that just trust me!" Placing the Pokeball in front of Pikachu, he stood back up and turned around to the face the flock of Spearow still waiting for a signal to attack.

When Charlie saw him spread his arms and legs as if he was trying to protect Pikachu, she started to fear what her dad was going to do next.

"Spearow!" he yelled to the angry flock, as if they might understand him. "Do you know who I am? I'm Ash from the town of Pallet! I'm destined to be the world's number one Pokemon Master! I can't be defeated by the likes of you!" At this point, out of the corner of her eye, Charlie saw Pikachu start to get up, unsure of what its trainer was doing. "I'm going to capture and defeat you all! You hear me?" _What is he doing_? She'd heard the story multiple times of how Pikachu finally learned to trust her dad, but nobody had ever told her the details about it. Nobody had ever told her he had done something this crazy! Charlie continued to watch the Spearow stare at her dad as they hovered in the sky, planning when they will attack. "Pikachu, go inside the Pokeball! It's the only way!" he quickly yelled.

Ignoring him, Pikachu just stared. Charlie wanted to scream and yell for Pikachu to just get inside the Pokeball. Couldn't he see that he would be saved if he did?

"COME AND GET ME!"

_WHAT?_ Whipping her head back toward her dad, her eyes widened in fear when she saw the Spearow headed right toward him, that killer's look in their eyes. She knew how this story ended-that they both made it out alive-but she found herself frantically searching around. _Where is the thing that saved them?_ She didn't know, but she couldn't help but think it was Misty. After all, she knew Misty had followed her dad after he took her bike. But as far as Charlie could see, she wasn't there. Turning back to her dad, she found herself getting angry with him. _Why is he just standing there?_

"NO!" she yelled. Regardless of what was supposed to happen, she wasn't going to sit there and watch her dad die. Before she could do anything, Pikachu leaped out of the bushes just as her dad's Pikachu ran toward her dad. "Pikachu, no! Stop!" Intent on saving his trainer, Pikachu ignored Charlie. She understood he wanted to save her dad, but he was not in the same shape he was a few years ago. He could really get hurt.

From behind the bushes, she watched her dad's Pikachu leap onto his shoulder, using it as a springboard to leap into the sky. "Piiiiikkkkaaaaacccchhhuuuu!" Pikachu cried, aiming its strongest electric attack at the flock of Spearow.

Covering her eyes from the brightness of the electric attack, Charlie was left to depend on her ears for information on what was going on. Cringing as she heard what sounded like an explosion, she ducked down to protect herself from any debris she couldn't' see. Once the light had dimmed down, Charlie found herself peaking through her fingers at the scene before her. While she could see the Spearow had fled the scene, she stared panicking a bit when she spotted her dad and his Pikachu on the ground. To make matters even worse, her own Pikachu had gotten lost somewhere in the aftermath of the attack.

Although it was still raining, the coast was clear, allowing Charlie to run out of her hiding spot and over to her dad and his Pikachu. Upon closer inspection, Charlie felt herself let out a sigh of relief, happy they were at least still breathing.

"Pi," she heard a small squeak from a few yards away. Turning toward the source of the noise, she spotted her own Pikachu. Crawling over to him, she scooped him up in her arms and pulled him close to her chest. Afraid she had almost lost him, she held on tight before loosening her grip so he could sit comfortably in her arms.

Glancing over her shoulder, she frowned at the sight of her dad and his Pikachu just lying there. She didn't know how she had ended up here, but she knew she couldn't just leave her dad by himself. Deciding she would stay until she was assured he was okay, she made her way over to a rock and sat down.

After twenty minutes or so, the rain finally started to clear up, and the sun finally began to return. Even better, though, from her spot on the rock, Charlie saw her dad and his Pikachu move around a bit. While she was relieved they had woken up, she refrained from moving. She could see from the smile on Pikachu's face that her dad had said something to it, but she couldn't hear them from where she was sitting. As they began to get up, she suddenly saw them look up, their minds already distracted. Following the direction of their eyes, she quickly understood why their attention had been pulled into the direction of the sky. Not only was there a rainbow spread across the sky, but she could also see the legendary Pokemon Ho-Oh gliding past it, the sunlight causing it to almost shine and sparkle.

"What's that?" Charlie heard her dad ask out loud.

"There is no data. There are still Pokemon yet to be identified," his Pokedex chimed in.

_What? How did his Pokedex not know who Ho-Oh was?_ Charlie couldn't help but wonder. But then she remembered. What was taking place now had happened almost twenty-seven years ago. This was long before anybody really knew about the other regions and the Pokemon that lived there. While Charlie's Pokedex had information on Pokemon from Kanto to Unova, her dad's would probably only contain information about Kanto.

Hoping off the rock, she walked a few feet toward her dad. "It's called a Ho-Oh," she told him, deciding to finally make her presence known.

Hearing someone talking to him, Ash hesitated before turning around, a part of him afraid it was the girl whose bike he had stolen earlier. When he finally did turn around, he suddenly froze in shock. Surprisingly, it wasn't the fact that there was a random girl that shocked him, but the way the girl looked. Her brown eyes stared back at him, a complete replica of his eyes. Although he didn't typically look at himself in the mirror a lot, the girl's face reminds him of his own. It was like she was the mirror he was staring into to-if he had reddish-brown hair that is. Other than that, though, the girl looked liked she could be his twin sister. Glancing at what she was holding in her arms, he was surprised to find she was holding a Pikachu that looked pretty similar to his. Despite all these haunting similarities, he decided not to say anything, afraid the girl might think he was crazy.

"A what oh?" he asked, completely butchering the name.

Hearing her dad's response, Charlie couldn't help but laugh. "Ho-Oh," she corrected him. "It's a legendary Pokemon that has its origins in Johto."

"Johto?"

"It's another region with lots of different Pokemon," she explained.

"Oh." He paused as he took in the information she had just given him. Glancing back at the sky, he watched as Ho-Oh flew out of sight. "Ho-Oh. That's pretty cool."

"Yep," she agreed. "It's called the guardian of the sky. Supposedly, it flies through the skies in search of a trainer with a pure heart. And, the myth is whoever sees is promised eternal happiness."

"Really?" he asked, his eyes lighting up in excitement. "That's pretty awesome!"

Charlie nodded in reply as silence fell between them. To her, her dad appeared lost in thought, probably still thinking about the Ho-Oh and the eternal happiness he might get. After a while, though, the silence started to get to her. "Hey," she called out to him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…I'm okay," he replied, his voice full of hesitation. To Charlie, it seemed like he was still trying to assess the situation and figure out just how bad it really was. "Just a bit scratched up."

"A bit scratched up?" She asked, raising her eyebrows, skeptical about his answer. Leave it to her dad though to make his injuries appear less serious than they actually were. "You were knocked unconscious by your Pikachu's thunderbolt!"

"Oh." Scooping Pikachu up in his arms, he grabbed his Pokedex and slid it back into his pocket. "You saw that?"

Charlie nodded. She saw it alright; she saw the whole thing, explosion and all. In fact, she had even wondered how her dad had survived. "I'm no doctor, but you're pretty lucky to be alive."

"I guess," he shrugged, not really sure how to respond. He was still a bit traumatized by everything that had happened. When he had woken up this morning to start his journey, this was the last thing he had anticipated happening. Looking away from Charlie, he glanced down at Pikachu and frowned.

"Is he okay?" Charlie asked, seeing the distress on her dad's face. Even hours after meeting, she could tell his Pikachu meant the world to him. Than again, the Pikachu resting in her own arms meant the world to her, too.

"He's in pretty bad shape. I need to get him to the Pokemon Center," Ash replied. Turning his head, he glanced down the road Charlie assumed was the direction of the Pokemon Center. She could tell that he wanted to head there right away, but that he didn't know how to tell her without seeming rude. "Thanks for checking on us."

"No problem."

Determining this was the best point for him to leave, Ash stared to head down the path, but abruptly stopped. Pivoting on his foot, he walked back toward Charlie, but it wasn't her he was focused on. Looking behind her, she spotted Misty's infamous bike, charred beyond repair. The look that appeared on Ash's face was one where you knew exactly what he was thinking. "Shit! Seriously?" he shouted at the bike. Quickly glancing at Charlie, he stared at her as if he was waiting for her to ask about the bike. Instead of saying anything to her, though, he just let out a sigh of frustration. The bike was toast, and there was nothing he could do about it. Using one of his hands, he nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Look, um…"

"Charlie," she finished for him.

Although this wasn't what Ash was about to ask, he figured it was probably wise to eventually learn the girl's name. Still, he couldn't help but think Charlie was a bit of an odd name for a girl.

"Isn't that, you know, more of a boy name?" he asked her. "That's kind of strange."

Instantly regretting this, he found himself cowering in fear a bit as Charlie glared at him, completely ticked by his comment. "You'r-My dad named me this!" Charlie yelled at him. "If you've got something to say about it, let's hear it!"

Ash just stared at her, not sure how to react. For a girl who had seemed rather quiet and reserved, she sure got defensive about her name. Despite her rather defensive attitude, he figured it would be in his best interest to back off now. He'd already angered one girl when he stole her bike, so adding another angry girl to the list would not be in his best interest.

"Right. Um…Charlie. I really need to get my Pikachu to the Pokemon Center…" He paused, trying to figure out how to say the next thing. "If you see a girl with red hair, can you NOT tell her what happened? I mean it was an accident. You saw it, right? It was an accident, totally unavoidable."

Despite the fact that her dad had just insulted the name HE had given her, she decided to help him out. "Accident. Got it."

"Thanks. Well, I really got to go. It was nice meeting you…"

"Charlie," she replied, shooting him a threatening glare. She knew her dad was pretty distracted, but it was still weird to think he had forgotten her name already-especially considering he was the one who had given her that name.

"Right. Sorry," he apologized, once again scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I'm Ash by the way. Ash Ketchum."

For a second, Charlie gave her dad a strange look before remembering that, in whatever world she had ended up, her and her dad hadn't met yet. While she may know who he was, he didn't know she knew. "Nice to meet you, Ash."

"See ya!" he waved as he jogged off toward the Pokemon Center.

After he dad had vanished over the hill, she suddenly realized she another problem that needed to be solved. Actually, she had two. She needed to figure out how to get back to her dad's room, and how she had ended up here in the first place. Heading back to the rock, she sat down and pulled out the locket. She knew it was the locket that had brought her here, so there had to be a way for it to take her back.

"Well this sucks," she huffed, letting the locket fall back to its resting place. "I mean, I think I know where I am, but I'm still stuck!"

Looking the way her dad had walked, Charlie contemplated the idea of following him. He was headed to the Pokemon Center where she knew they had food, shelter, and most important, a phone to call home. Before she could decide what to do next, she heard someone start shouting at her.

"Hey kid!" Turning toward the direction of the noise, Charlie was rather surprised to see a younger version of Misty standing a few feet away from her. To Charlie, she looked completely different from how she looked now. Unlike that, in Charlie's opinion, slightly more fashionable clothing she wore now, Misty had had on her yellow take top, jean shorts, red suspenders combo-accompanied by the side ponytail. "Did you see a boy and a Pikachu pass by here? Black hair, dorky clothing, dorky hat?"

As Misty described Charlie's father to her, she couldn't help but chuckle quietly to herself. Just like the differences in the way Misty looked compared to the way Charlie knew her, Misty's current attitude about her dad was drastically different form the one Charlie heard about everyday. While the Misty Charlie knew occasionally used the words this Misty was using to describe her dad, the Misty Charlie was talking to now would not be telling her that she loves her dad, or that she thought he was really handsome, and that it was what he done for Pikachu that she admired the most. Charlie could only imagine what would happen if she told the Misty standing in front of her that one day she would fall for the boy she was currently furious with.

"No. What about them?"

"Well, that stupid kid stole my bike and ran-" Her voice came to a complete stop as she spotted her bike out of the corner of her eye. Within seconds she was fired up, her face rd in anger-maybe even rage. "My bike!" she shrieked, running over to what remained of her bike. "That little brat! He ruined my bike!" Even if Charlie was unable to see Misty face, she could have swore she saw steam rising from red head. She was peeved, and because Charlie was the only one nearby, lucky her became the outlet for Misty's anger. Whipping around, she marched over to Charlie, a fiery and determined look in her eyes. Charlie honestly thought she saw her life flash before her eyes, as one of her greatest fears became a reality: she was at the receiving end of Misty's notorious anger. Even Pikachu, who had been resting in Charlie's arms, was a bit scared. He hadn't seen Misty this angry in a long, long time. "What happened?" she roared.

Too scared to answer, Char found herself leaning as far away as the rock would allow her without falling off. "I…umm…" Charlie gulped down the fear she was feeling, knowing that, if she didn't answer Misty, she may never live to find out how to get back to her dad's room. "I don't know. I just stopped to rest here," she lied, cracking the friendliest smile she could manage. She knew it was a lie, but it may be the only thing that could save her.

"Yeah right," she scoffed, seeing right through Charlie's lie. "I bet you barbecued my bike!"

_What? _There was no way Charlie was going to let Misty blame her for something her dad had done-okay, so it what Pikachu had done.

"No!" she shouted back at Misty, regretting her tone of voice immediately. "I mean, no. I didn't do it. I told you, I came here to rest and I just saw it lying there."

Despite the fact that Charlie's dad was headed toward the Pokemon Center, the deceased version of her dad must have been looking out for her, because Misty finally let out a sigh. "Fine," she replied, her voice already lacking the power it had previously contained. "Sorry I yelled at you."

"It's okay," Charlie told her, not wanting to offend Misty after she had just sneaked by. "You were angry, I understand."

Misty nodded as if she was agreeing with Charlie. Puffing out her cheeks, she inhaled a bit gust of air before letting it out. "I can't believe this happened. Just my luck!" she yelled, kicking the ground with her foot. For a moment, Charlie feared she was going to get angry again, but then Misty's expression changed. As bad as it sounded, Charlie had never really known Misty to show much emotion. She'd always try to keep it together-at least when Charlie was around. But the Misty here, the younger one standing in front of Charlie, had a look of pure sadness on her was. It was as if she was really hurting.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked.

"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?" she responded, her voice growing in volume again. "This the last thing I ever received from them, and it's gone! Burned to a crisp."

"Received from who?"

"My parents," Misty whispered softly. Lightly kicking the charred bike with her foot, it crumbled just a bit more. The pain on her face was even more evident than before, and Charlie swore she could see tears bottle up in Misty's eyes. "Now because of some brat, it's gone."

"I'm sorry," Charlie replied, not really knowing what else to say.

"Whatever," she responded, wiping away any trace of tears in her eyes. "Gift or not, bikes cost a lot of money. I'll hunt him down and make him pay me back if I have to. He's not going to get away with this."

Gingerly picking up the bike, she rested it on top of her shoulders, wobbling a bit from the weight.

"Be careful!" Charlie panicked, jumping off the rock to try and help Misty balance the bike before it fell.

"I got it!" she snapped, twisting her body away from Charlie. "I'm fine."

"Okay." Backing up a few steps, Charlie gave Misty some space.

Not even bothering to say goodbye, Charlie watched as Misty walked away with her bike, following the same path her dad had just headed down. As she watched her go, Charlie found herself thinking about the one thing she knew, but her dad or Misty didn't. Once Misty walked through those doors and met up with her dad again, a sort of odd friendship would be formed that would eventually turn into something neither of them could have anticipated. But at the same time, as Charlie watched Misty leave, she found herself understanding something else.

Just like the letters her dad have given her, Misty's bike had been the last thing she had ever received from her parents before they passed away. She was already mad when it was stolen from her, but to find it charred by the side of the road? It would be like someone throwing all her dad's letters into a fire. Accident or not, Charlie knew that bike had more meaning to Misty than she led on. And even though years later she had received the bike in the same condition she had gotten it from her parents, Charlie could understand that it wasn't the same. It hadn't been the way Misty would have wanted to get the bike back. For if Charlie's dad had saved up enough money to buy Misty a new bike, it would have showed he cared about her feelings and destroying something so special to her. But Charlie's dad had never known that, so when Nurse Joy had fixed it and returned it to Misty, he thought nothing of it.

Sitting back on the rock, Charlie sat Pikachu in her lap and leaned back on her palms, lifting her head to the sky. Inhaling, she puffed out her cheeks as Misty had done earlier before releasing the pent up air. "You better hope they have a bike shop up there, Dad, or you're screwed."

As she said these words, the locket dangling around her neck started to glow again, emitting the same blue light it had before. The path and the surrounding forest vanished before her as she closed her eyes to block out the bright light. Before she opened them, she could feel the fabric of her dad's comforter beneath her hands. She was back in his room. Picking up the paper that come with the locket, she read it over once more, trying to understand the message hidden in the words. Before she could come up with anything, though, she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," she called as she stuffed the paper and the envelope under a pillow. Since she wasn't even sure herself what was going on with the locket, she didn't want anyone else to know yet. When the door opened, Misty stepped inside the room, surprising Charlie a bit. She had expected it to be her grandmother telling her dinner was ready. "Hey Misty!"

"I just came up here to tell you…I just…" For some unknown reason, Misty found herself stumbling over her words. She didn't know why, but seeing Charlie sitting there surprised her a bit. She looked so familiar to Misty, but she couldn't figure out why. She wasn't stupid, though, and she knew who Charlie was, but the familiarity she saw in Charlie wasn't due to anything having to do with Ash or the fact she was his daughter. This familiarity about Charlie seemed to come from her seeing the girl in a place she had never expected; a place where seeing the girl didn't quite make sense to Misty. Misty knew the memory to be from years and years ago, but she was confident she had seen Charlie there-or at least someone who looked like her. "Um… Dinner's ready."

"Okay," Charlie replied as she stared back at Misty's shocked face. She looked blown away by what she saw, and her expression was the same as the one Charlie's dad had given her when he first saw her. As Charlie continued to stare back at Misty, though, it suddenly hit her why the red head looked so confused. "I'll be down in a few minutes…"

"Okay," Misty replied, still confused about what she was seeing. _I think I've finally lost it._ Rubbing her temple, she sighed before turned around and headed back downstairs.

Once Misty was gone, Charlie grabbed the locket and popped it open to read the inscription. _Leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy. All you have to do is ask._ It suddenly all made sense to her. The locket had answered her question by sending her to the day her dad had first started his journey-he was the man who had made the mistake that cost him the biggest adventure of his life. But by sending her to the day her dad started his journey, the locket had done so much more than simply answer her question. Misty's reaction to seeing her was proof of that. As the locket had stated, she'd entered the world of yesterday, something only achieved through time travel. And while in the past, she'd changed something, thus affecting the future. It was a minor, non-life threatening change, but a change that had lasting effects. More importantly, though, it was a change that indicated she could do so much more.

And as for the rest of the riddle, well, she was pretty sure she had it figured out. As the note had told her, the magic of time travel could only take her so far; after she ended up where she needed to be, what happened next was in her control. Still, with these questions answered, the ones that she struggled the most to understand was whom she was supposed to work together with and what mistake her dad had made that she was now supposed to fix. Despite these unanswered questions, she had this feeling the locket had been given to her so she could go back in time and save her dad from Team Rocket.

"Pikachu!" Charlie practically shouted with joy. Startled by Charlie's sudden outburst, Pikachu instantly went into alert mode. "We can save him!"

Leaping off her bed, Charlie grabbed Pikachu and ran out the door, a renewed sense of energy coursing through her. This was the moment she had been waiting years for, and now it was finally here. First thing when she returned to Viridian City tonight, she had to tell Grayson.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

* * *

_Yeah, this dream will last forever  
This dream will never die  
We will rise to meet the challenge every time_

Peddling as fast as her bike would allow her, Charlie made her way down Rt. 1, and, ironically, through the same place where the locket had sent her only hours ago. Since it was fall, the days were pretty short and, already, Charlie could see the sun setting up ahead. While she knew she would be okay if she had to navigate her way through the dark, she still didn't like the thought of not being able to see anything in her path. As she continued through the forest between Pallet Town and Viridian City, Charlie felt her Poke Gear start to ring in her backpack.

"Pikachu can you grab that?" she asked Pikachu, who was poking his head out of her backpack so he could be safe and still see what was going on. Diving back down into Charlie's backpack, Pikachu retrieved her Poke Gear for her. With careful ease she had perfected through lots of practice, she took one hand off her handlebars and grabbed the phone from Pikachu. "Who is it Pikachu?"

"Pikachu…" Pikachu shrugged.

Hitting the button to answer the phone call, she pressed the phone to her ear, securing it with her shoulder. "Hello?"

"Charlie!" the other person on the end of the line practically screamed. Due to the sudden and unsuspected high-pitched yell, Charlie almost lost control of her bike when she had to quickly pull the phone away from her ear. "Why didn't you call me yet? I've been worried about you all day!"

Sighing, Charlie brought the phone back towards her ear, but this time not so close in case her friend started screaming again. "I'm on my way home now, Laney," she explained to her friend. She had told her friend she would call her when she got home, but it appeared her friend had already forgotten. "I didn't forget to call you."

"Oh," Laney replied, laughing nervously in embarrassment. "Wait! Are you riding your bike _and_ talking on the phone again?"

"Laney, I'm fine. I've done this like a thousand times," Charlie assured her friend. Often like the other people in her life, Laney tended to over worry about her a lot. She knew they cared about her, but sometimes she thought they were convinced she went looking for danger because she thought it was fun. "What did you need?"

"I was just calling you to see how you were doing today since I hadn't heard form you," Laney explained, her voice a lot less enthusiastic and panicky as before. Instead, her tone held sympathy and concern for her friend. "I wish I could be there with you, but my parents refused to budge on this whole family bonding thing. I swear, sometimes family can just be so frustrating."

"Yeah," Charlie agreed, but it didn't sound very convincing.

Hearing her friend's reaction, what Laney said finally dawned on her. "Ah! Charlie, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" Laney frantically shouted, trying to backtrack in her words.

"It's okay," Charlie quickly promised Laney. "I get it. No need to worry. I'm not mad."

She really wasn't mad either. Regardless of what her friends and others might have thought, Charlie could handle people complaining about their parents and be okay. Just because her dad wasn't there didn't mean she wanted her friends to always say good things about their parents and think about how lucky they were compared to her. After all, she was a teenager too, and she could understand how her friends would get frustrated with their parents. She'd heard Grayson complain about his parents all the time, and not once had she been angry with him for it. In fact, she was pretty sure she'd complained about her dad's friends just as much as her own friends complained about their parents. Sure she wished she had both parents around like her friends, but she was pretty sure that if her dad were still living today, she would have things she was mad at him about as well.

"Oh thank goodness," Laney sighed in relief. She always tried not to complain about her family too much to Charlie, but sometimes she just couldn't help it. "But, yeah, how are you doing? I really wish I could be there with you."

"As well as I can be on a day like this," Charlie admitted. Just like Grayson, Laney was a friend she could tell anything to. And just like Grayson, Laney had grown to know Charlie inside and out. "I mean, I'm doing much better than I have in the past, but it just makes me really miss him, you know?"

While Laney didn't actually know how Charlie was feeling, she could at least understand her friend's feelings. "I know, but always remember how far you've come. I know I've told you this a million times-and I'm sure your dad's friends have told you this over and over-but your dad would be really proud of you, Charlie." Although Laney couldn't see her face, Charlie couldn't help but blush. "You may not believe me, but you're one hell of a trainer. You've not only trained your own Pokemon to the best they can be, but you've trained your dad's Pokemon to be even better!"

"Thanks, Laney."

"No problem," she replied. What she had told Charlie was the truth, and she would continue to tell her it for years. Considering what her friend had been through, Laney was convinced that Charlie had come out on top. In fact, it was thanks to her well-known stubbornness that she turned out so well. Just because things were tough, it didn't mean that Charlie would give in and give up. She was a fighter, and she would do everything she could to win. So, when Laney saw the person Charlie had turned out to be, it wasn't so surprising. "So are you headed back home then?"

"Yeah," Charlie replied as she continued down the path, now about fifteen minutes or so outside of Viridian. "I have to stop at Grayson's first, though."

"Grayson?" Regardless of the previous conversation's tone, Laney found herself smiling. There was nothing she loved more than teasing Charlie about Grayson. Practically everyone in the world-expect for Grayson, of course- knew how Charlie felt about her long time friend. "Ooo! Are you going to go tell him how madly in love you are with him?"

"No!" Charlie shot back as her face turned bright red. "I just…I just need to talk to him about something."

"Your wedding plans?"

"Laney!" Charlie whined, a tread of annoyance in her voice. She knew Laney loved to tease her about Grayson, but it only reminded her of what she didn't have. Unlike her dad and Misty, Charlie wasn't above admitting she had really liked Grayson as more than a friend. The only problem was that Grayson was currently dating a girl named Morgan who had one point been one of Charlie's friends. "Besides, he's with Morgan, remember?"

Laney just sighed. After having traveled with Charlie and Grayson for years, she had seen the relationship the two had shared together. In her mind, it was a lot better than the one Grayson currently shared with Morgan, but that was something, unfortunately, Grayson had to learn on his own. And until Grayson opened his eyes to what had been in front of him the whole time, Charlie was forced to stand on the sidelines and be the best friend.

On the other hand, though, Laney couldn't help but fear the possibility of Charlie being rejected. Although she hadn't known her for very long, one thing she did learn about Charlie is that her friend had a very fragile heart. She didn't exactly have the best ideas about love and relationships either, so for her to want something more with Grayson other than friendship, that was a big step for Charlie.

"Don't worry, Charlie," Laney replied. "One day Grayson will come around."

When that day would be, Laney had no idea. She'd tried to drop hints to him over time, but for some reason he just didn't get it. Of course, Charlie was really important to him and he considered her one of the most important people in his life, but when Laney would drop hints, he would just laugh and say how that wouldn't happen in a million years. Even though that was never a rejection in Laney's eyes, she couldn't help but see it as Grayson just not understanding his feelings for Charlie.

To everyone else, the two came across as a lot closer than friends, but in Grayson's eyes, they were just really good friends. And if that was the case, Laney suspected that in order for Grayson to finally understand, he would have to lose Charlie. Not lose her in the sense that she would have to pass away, but lose her in the sense where he woke up one day and she wasn't there by his side like always. It was kind of like Pikachu and Charlie's relationship. The two were so close that the only way they would ever learn how important they were to each other, would be if one suddenly disappeared.

"I don't know, Laney…" Charlie replied, hesitation in her voice.

"Hey, you know what? If he doesn't ever come around, then so what?" Laney questioned Charlie. She knew these weren't the words Charlie wanted to hear, but Laney felt it was important for Charlie to at least consider the possibility that things might not turn out the way she would have hoped. "Besides, there's always Alex. I'm sure he'd love to get back together with you."

"I'd rather not," Charlie replied rather dryly.

Giggling quietly to herself, Laney continued her pep talk. "Regardless of what happens, you're only eighteen, Charlie. You've got plenty of time to find someone who's good enough for you. I know you will, too. You're an amazing person, and I promise you one day some guy will notice that. And if in the end, it turns out to be Grayson, then hooray! But if it's not, you're going to be okay. You can be loved Charlie, and love can work out. It's not impossible."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Charlie sarcastically replied.

Sighing, Laney just shook her head. "Well, I've got to go, but I'm glad you're doing okay. I worry about you, so if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call," Laney told Charlie. She knew Charlie hated how everyone constantly worried about her, but they weren't exactly in the wrong for doing it. Although Charlie probably wouldn't admit it to Laney or anyone else, she tended to keep her emotions all bottled up until it became too much. She also tended to keep many things secret as long as she could. In the opinion of Brock, though, this was something Charlie had probably learned from Ash and his whole keeping her a secret. "Oh, and you tell Grayson I said he better give you a big hug today. It's the least he can do for hanging out with Morgan instead of you today."

"I'll let him know."

"Okay. Bye, Charlie! Bye, Pikachu!"

"Bye, Laney!"

Clicking the end button on her Poke Gear, Charlie handed it back to Pikachu who stuck the Poke Gear back in Charlie's backpack. Now much closer to Viridian City and without any distractions, Charlie picked up the pace.

OOOO

Meanwhile, back in Viridian City, Grayson sat on his front porch, listening to his girlfriend Morgan talk about her upcoming birthday.

"Don't forget, my birthday's next week!" Morgan reminded him, continuing her list of things she felt Grayson should know. Grayson just groaned, though, sick of hearing about her birthday. How could he forget? She reminded him about it every chance she got. "I was thinking you could take me out somewhere really nice and…"

"Grayson!"

Hearing his name being called by someone other than Morgan, Grayson tuned back into the world around him

"Great," Morgan huffed in annoyance, her tone of voice being anything but happy about the person who had just arrived. Since Grayson was facing Morgan, he couldn't see who had ticked her off, but he could identify the person just by their voice. "What does she want?"

"Grayson!" Charlie yelled once more. Bringing her bike to a halt, she took one look at Morgan and responded with n equally peeved look. For some reason Grayson didn't know, Charlie and Morgan were no longer friends, so that meant they never got long. "I need to talk to you," she hissed. When Grayson didn't budge from his seat on the porch, she shot him a pleading look. "Please…It's really important."

"Is everything okay?" he asked her, worried something bad might have happened. With Charlie, he never really knew.

"If I say no, will you come with me?" she asked him in an attempt to force him to talk to her. Cleary, there was nothing wrong like Grayson had thought, but whatever had his friend bouncing on her feet in impatience, clearly needed to be addressed.

"Morgan…" Grayson addressed his girlfriend, hesitating because he knew what he was about to say would only make her angrier.

"What?" she snapped, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Charlie really needs me right now. It'll be really quick, I promise," he tried to tell her, hoping she would understand. Somehow, he knew she wouldn't though.

"I've just got to tell him something and then I'll give him back so you can continue to boss him around," Charlie shot back, a snarky tone in her voice.

"At least he's mine to boss around," Morgan replied, an equally devilish smile on her face. Although Grayson didn't understand what Morgan meant, he knew Charlie did, because her smirk immediately vanished from her face. "Sucks to be the loser, huh Charlie?"

Turning her face away from Morgan, Charlie clenched her fists in anger. She wasn't a violent person, but sometimes she just wanted to punch Morgan in the face it meant she would stop saying such mean things.

"Morgan, stop," Grayson intervened, trying his best not to sound like he was yelling at her. While he knew Morgan didn't get along with Charlie, just because she was his girlfriend didn't mean she could be mean to his best friend. "Just let me talk to Charlie, and I'll be right back."

"Okay," she smiled back, any trace of anger vanishing. Before Grayson walked away, Morgan pulled him back and kissed him rather forcefully. When she finally let go, she smiled at him and ruffled his hair in what he gathered to be her attempt at trying to be cute. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too," he replied, not really sure if he had meant it. Wasn't she just getting snappy with Charlie a few seconds ago?

Shaking his head, Grayson concluded that he would never understand girls-especially when Morgan and Charlie were around. When they were younger, Charlie and Morgan used to be really good friends, but when they turned sixteen, the two suddenly drifted apart. Now they hated each other, and they seemed to this secret language that consisted of short remarks, glares, and things Grayson always seemed to miss. Plus, whenever Morgan was done being mad at him for talking to Charlie, before he walked away, she always got really affectionate. Often times, it was almost to the point where it was kind of embarrassing to be a part of it in front of his friend.

Finally free from Morgan's grasps, Grayson followed Charlie as she led them down the path, away from his home. He didn't know where they were headed, but he hopped it wasn't too far. It was already getting dark, and he had to wake up early tomorrow for class.

"She's not good for you," Charlie said, slightly out of the blue. "She's a complete bitch, and I don't understand why you're dating her."

"Is this why you wanted to talk to me?" Grayson replied, slightly annoyed by Charlie's bluntness. While he had a duty of keeping Morgan from being too mean to Charlie, he also had to stick up for his girlfriend. "To tell me what you think about my girlfriend?"

"No," she replied, staring down at the ground. "But…"

"Charlie stop!" he snapped, stopping where he was. If this was where their conversation was headed, he was ending it now. "I'm not going to come with you if all you're going to do is complain about my girlfriend. Look, I know you two don't like each other. I get it, okay? So just stop."

"Fine," she huffed.

"Thank you," Grayson replied, sincerely grateful that Charlie was letting the conversation die. "Now what did you want to tell me?" he asked her as the two resumed walking down the sidewalk.

"I found a way to change what happened to my dad." _Excuse me? Did she really just way what I think she did? _"Someone gave me this locket-I don't know who, but their initials are LP. There was a clue with it that told me I could give an innocent man a second chance at life."

"Charlie!" Grayson blurted, unable to hold it in. Didn't she see how this already sounded like a bad idea? Running his fingers through his hair, Grayson let Charlie continue before he said anything. "Sorry, continue."

"I wasn't sure what they meant, and the locket had this weird inscription on it. Anyways, I followed what it said, and I asked it a question. Nothing happened at first, but then it started glowing. When I opened my eyes, I was on Rt.1 on the day my dad first started his journey," she told Grayson. Before she continued onto the next part, Grayson already a feeling he knew what she was going to say. "This locket," Charlie continued, pulling out the locket from behind her shirt, "it can take me back in time and allow me to change things."

"Charlie…I don't…I don't know."

He wanted so badly to believe her, but it sounded made up. Maybe, he figured, she had just dreamed about something like that and thought it was real. After all, she knew about the day her dad had left on his journey, so her brain could have been able to recreate it so that it seemed like she had been there. It seemed very unlikely she'd actually traveled back in time. True, she did have the locket, but it still seemed unbelievable to Grayson.

"You don't believe me," Charlie asked, but it came across as more of a statement. In an instant, her expression of pure joy vanished.

"I didn't say that," he told her, a tint of frustration in his voice. He hadn't even said one word about it, and she was already jumping to conclusions.

"You don't have to say anything for me to know what you really mean," she replied, her eyes narrows and a glare on her face.

"Charlie, I believe you," he told her, regardless of the fact he had yet to determine his true feelings on the subject. "I just think it's a terrible idea."

"What?" This seemed to shock her even more. He didn't really know why, though, considering this wasn't the first time he had told her an idea of hers was terrible. "What do you mean?"

"You heard me."

"You always told me that one day I'd find a way. You said one day I might even be able to change the past!" Charlie shouted, repeating the words Grayson had said to her many years ago. A beacon of hope that she could one day change the things that had happened to her, she had never forgotten them. Apparently, though, he had. "Well I found a way and I need your help!"

When Grayson got a look at her face, he could tell in an instant that she was starting to get worked up.

"I can't help you," he replied, knowing this wasn't what she wanted to hear at all. Although in the past he may have called some of her ideas crazy, very rarely had he ever declined helping her.

"Morgan controlling your life now?" she spat back, her voice dripping with venom and sarcasm.

"No." Grayson tried to remain calm and collected, knowing that if he let her get him all worked up, he could go against what he had just told her. "But if you want to know the truth, it isn't that I can't help you. It's that I don't want to."

If Charlie and Grayson had been two Pokemon facing off in battle, his words would have been the critical hit that knocked Charlie out for the count. Betrayal was the only word he could think of that accurately described her face. He had betrayed her, the feelings like he had slapped her in the face. He knew he had hurt her, and he did feel bad about it, but it had been for her own good.

To Charlie, the words left her with a sharp sting that lingered after the blow. She couldn't understand why Grayson would ever say anything like that to her. Yes, she knew he didn't always agree with her ideas or help her, but he'd never turned her down like that. It was as if he had been looking for something to say that would crush her spirit, and he'd found it. Glancing at the ground, Charlie racked her brain for any reason why he would act this way. While the only reason she could come up with was that he no longer liked her, it just seemed impossible to her. They'd been friends for so long; he wouldn't just go and throw away their friendship like that, would he?

"You try and bring your dad back with that locket, you're going to screw everything up," he told her, staring her down so he knew she had heard him. Instead, she just gave him a confused look. "I know you don't believe me, but this isn't going to end the way you want it to at all. First of all, I doubt you've even considered that this might be a trap. You're just doing whatever this LP person wants you to without even questioning how suspicious it might be."

"Nobody can hurt me more than they already have," she replied, her voice bitter and filled with resentment. "They've already taken away my dad."

Grayson closed his eyes and shook his head in frustration. He hated how Charlie always acted like she was bullet proof and that nothing anybody said or did could hurt her. This wasn't the case at all, and he knew she was aware of that, too.

"Well, for starters, you've got cause to seek revenge. I'm sure Team Rocket knows that," Grayson tried to explain. She could deny it all she wanted, but her previous statement only proved she wasn't above seeking revenge from Team Rocket. As she had said, they had already hurt her as much as they could when they took her dad from her. What more did she have to lose by trying to take them down? The only thing, however, was if Team Rocket was willing to kill her dad to get him out of the way, Grayson could only imagine what they might try to do to Charlie in order to keep her from possibly getting revenge. "Plus, you're pretty well known Charlie. So are your dad's friends. If I wanted to hurt you, I'd go through them, or I would go through you if I wanted to hurt them."

"But they told me I could save my dad!" she stressed, making sure Grayson didn't forget what the message had told her. "Grayson, this is what I wanted my whole entire life! Just think of how happy everyone's going to be if I can bring him back!"

"I know, Charlie, I know," he groaned, dragging his fingers through his hair. Trust him, he knew how much she wanted this. But just because she wanted this, it didn't mean other people did, or that it would turn out the way he knew she hoped it would. "Look, Charlie, you're not the only one who's lost a parent. There are kids all over that have grown up without a parent or other family members. But here you are, running off to try and save him. This isn't going to be some average journey to collect badges. You want to mess with time, Charlie. Time! You know how dangerous that could be?"

"I know that!" she shouted back. He could tell she was starting to get a little aggravated. "But it's the only way I can get this. It's the only way I can have my dad back."

"I know, but how do you think you're going to have to save your dad? You're going to have to take on Team Rocket. You could be killed! Then what? Charlie, if anything ever happened to you…" Grayson couldn't finish his sentence.

Didn't she see what could happen? He knew she might have thought she was doing the right thing, but if she were killed, she would only be hurting everyone else. They'd already lost her dad, so losing her would destroy them.

And what about him?

Charlie was his first friend and she'd always been his best friend. He knew it was selfish, but he didn't want to be like her, living the rest of his life without such and important person in his life.

"You can't do this on your own. It's suicidal."

"That's why I asked you for help, Grayson." She stared him down, reminding him of just how serious she was about this. "You're my friend. Friends are supposed to help each other. They're supposed to be there for each other."

If there was one important thing she had learned through her dad's scavenger hunt, it was that, no matter what, you're there for your friends when they need you. Her dad never gave up on his friends, and he always helped them regardless of what might happen. She'd do the same for Grayson in a heartbeat, so why couldn't he do the same for her?

"Friends are also supposed to be there to tell you the truth when nobody else will, not matter how much it stinks to hear," he reminded her. Just as she had done, Grayson stared Charlie down, showing her just how serious he was about what he had said. He knew he could be the friend she wanted him to be. The one who would tell her to go right ahead without stopping to think about the consequences, but she didn't need that friend. She needed the friend whose rational way of thinking would balance out her irrational, follow your heart way of life. "Okay, how about this? Say you, by some miracle, succeed and bring your dad back. You're just going to go through this all again when passes away the normal way. People will eventually die, Charlie. You can't stop time to make it last forever."

"Fine then. I don't need your help," Charlie responded, a determined look on her face. It was clear Grayson wasn't going to help her, so she wasn't going to sit there and waste valuable time trying to convince him otherwise. Grayson could lie and say he wasn't expecting this, but he'd known Charlie his entire life. She was practically impossible to reason with, so if she didn't agree with someone, she'd just ditch them and do things on her own. As he had learned when they were kids, just because he said he wouldn't help her, it didn't mean she'd given up. If had meant she'd given up on him. "I'll deal with whatever happens later, but this is the only chance I have to get my dad back. I'm not letting this slip away from me."

"Okay." Grayson knew this wasn't a match, but he'd thrown in the white towel. He'd given up not because he was weak, but because he knew when he had lost. He'd tried convincing her, giving her rational evidence to back up his claim, but she was too focused on what she wanted. Her heart had already taken over, preventing her brain from having any sway in what she finally decided to do. "I wish you good luck, and I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Thanks," Charlie replied, but she really didn't know how to take what Grayson had said to her. They stared at each other, waiting for someone to either walk away or say something, but they were stuck in a deadlock. Finally, Charlie spoke up, "I know you said you wouldn't help me, but could you not tell anyone about this?"

Letting out a sigh, Grayson tried to hold back his urge to grab her and force her to stay where she was. He couldn't believe it. She was really going to do this. And with this in mind, could he really just sit there and let her do this, pretending he knew nothing about the danger she was putting herself in? For someone else, probably not; for her, though, he could.

"What should I tell them if the ask me where you are?"

"Catching Pokemon," she replied.

"Okay," he nodded. For reasons he couldn't explain, he couldn't walk away from her and just leave her there when he knew what she was going to do. He may have had a girlfriend, but Charlie was just as important to him as Morgan. If he went with Charlie, he would risk losing Morgan, but if he let Charlie go, he would risk losing her. He knew he could probably carry on in life without one of them, so long as the other was there. But the question he found himself unable to answer was which one he could live without more? "Promise me something?"

"What?"

"Promise me that you'll be safe. Promise me that if things get too dangerous, you'll stop and come back, no matter what happens."

Grayson could tell it was hard for her to even consider agreeing to this. It wasn't that she wanted to put herself in danger, but if was the fact that she might have to quit when her dream had yet to come true. Finally though, to Grayson's relief, she gave in.

"Promise."

"Thank you," he replied, finally able to thank her for doing something for him. "And if my words finally get through to that brain of yours, you know where to find me."

"Never," she shot back, a confident grin on her face. _Oh well…_

Leaning forward, Grayson wrapped her into a tight hug, almost afraid to let go. Pulling back a bit, he couldn't help but smile at her, just happy about the fact that he could call this crazy girl his best friend. As he was hugging her in the middle of the street, it was then that he realized things about her he never really noticed before. It was ironic to him how when your chances of seeing someone again hang in the balance, you start to notice things about them you were oblivious to before. Things like how the shampoo she used smelled like roses, or how her perfume smelled sweet, but not too strong. How there's always a wrinkle on the shoulder of her clothing from where Pikachu always sat; how she had a small scar above her eye that he'd never asked her how she had gotten it. And finally, how pretty she really was, and how lucky he was to have her in his life.

Finally letting go, he waved goodnight to her and watched as she hopped on her bike and started to peddle the opposite way, back toward her house. She didn't get too far down the path, though. "Charlie, wait!" he called, racing after her. She paused in the middle of the street and turned back around to see what he wanted. Grabbing a Pokeball off his belt, he grabbed her hand and placed it in her palm, folding her fingers over it. Confused, she looked at him. "It's my Salamence," he told her. "Take it and use it to keep yourself safe. No buts."

When she peddled away this time, her let her go, knowing that so long as she had his Salamence with her, she was just a little bit safer. Deep down he knew most people would tell him to keep trying to stop her, but it was one thing to tell someone to do something and another to actually be in their position. When it came to the part of her personality that ruled her decisions, Charlie was her dad through and through. Grayson could drag her home kicking and screaming, but it would do no good. She'd just find a way to escape without telling him where she was going. She would never give up until she got what she wanted. While this might be an admirable trait in her, it could also be a curse. So all he could do was keep his promise, knowing she would keep hers and come back if things got too dangerous. That's all he could hope for.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

_The friendliest face can hide the fiercest foe! You just never know!_

_-__Domino_

Once again his parents were fighting, forcing him to seek somewhere quieter for the time being. This time they were arguing about his dad's job and the recent blow to his career he had suffered. Apparently, his team had been charge of protecting some locket that had special powers. The other day though, the locket had been stolen right under their noses, and since the boy's dad was the leader of the group in charge, he was the one being held responsible for the locket's disappearance. In other words, if his dad didn't find the locket and return it back to his boss in a timely manner, both him and his family could be in great danger.

When he left his house, it was already pretty late at night, so he made sure to be somewhat cautions. Normally Viridian wasn't a very unsafe place, but he had always grown up learning to never let your guard down, no matter how safe you might feel. While it may have seemed unhelpful as a kid, when he had gone on his Pokemon journey when he was ten, the idea of always keeping your guard up had proven to be both a successful strategy for surviving, as well as a successful battle strategy for Pokemon battles.

After reaching the downtown area of Viridian, he started to feel a bit lonely. Since it was late at night, most people-lucky people-had already headed off to bed. Maybe, like him, they had problems that kept them up at night, but he doubted they needed to worry about arguing from downstairs keeping them up all night. Grabbing a Pokeball from his belt, he released his Poochyena. That way, he could at least have him to talk to, or if anything happened, he would be prepared.

"They were arguing again, so I just needed to get out of the house," the boy told his Poochyena so it would know what was going on. Understanding what the boy had told him, Poochyena nudged his trainer's leg in reply. Letting his hand fall to his side, the boy lightly scratched that special spot behind his Pokemon's ears.

Drifting further from downtown, they came to a small pond that marked the other set of neighborhoods in Viridian City. Sitting down on one of the benches near the lake, the boy leaned his head back and stared out at the sky.

Although Viridian wasn't the biggest city out there, it had enough people who lived there to call for two sets of neighborhoods-one on the east end of the city and one on the west end. The east end marked the end of the town, while, if one continued past the neighborhoods on the west side, they'd hit Rt. 22, which would eventually lead them toward the Indigo Plateau. Other than that, if one went south of the city, it would take them on Rt. 1 toward Pallet Town, while if one went north of the city, they'd be on Rt. 2, which would take them through the Viridian Forest and on to Pewter City.

"Hey!" someone called out to the boy as they waved their hands in front of his face. Since he wasn't actually expecting anyone to be out this late, the voice actually made him jump just a bit. He figured he must have been pretty lost in thought to have not even noticed them walking up. "What are you doing? Don't you know it's really late?"

Staring back at them, he let his eyes adjust to the small amount of light the street lamp provided, allowing him to get his first good look at the person in front of him. He could see that they were noticeably shorter than him; they had long hair pulled back into a ponytail. What led him to the person's identity, however, was the silhouette of a Pikachu on their shoulder.

"I'm not stupid you know," he told her. Of course he knew it was late out. There was a reason he'd called upon his Poochyena, aside from the fact he wanted some company. Plus, before leaving the house, he'd made sure to grab his other Pokemon.

"Ben?" the person asked him, their eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Charlie."

"Is everything okay?" she asked him, no longer concerned about giving him reports about the time of day. To his own surprise, she actually sounded genuinely concerned about him. He hadn't been expecting this.

He didn't think this because he thought she was mean or heartless. In fact, he actually thought she was a pretty nice girl. It was more because of the fact that the two of them weren't really good friends, so she had no reason to be concerned about his problems. They simply knew each other because they both lived in Viridian City, and because they crossed paths and chatted every now and then. He'd never label their relationship as friendship, though. To him, Charlie was more like the kid one went to school with for years, talked to a few times, but never became super close with. So for her to treat him like they were good friends was unexpected. Then again, he wondered if maybe she thought they were good friends. After all, they did know something stuff about each other, but most of it wasn't true. In fact, most of the stuff she knew about him was a lie.

For starters, Charlie was under the impression that, like his mom, Ben's dad had left when he was very young. His dad, however, had never left when he was little and was actually back at home, currently arguing about with his mom about the recent blow to his job. The only reason Ben had told Charlie his dad had left was because of his dad's job. He was a high-ranking member of Team Rocket, and his family had moved to Viridian for his dad's work when he was eleven. His family just pretended his dad had left because it was a good cover story as to why his dad was never at home.

The few things he told her that were truth, however, were that he didn't know what he wanted to with his life, and that, like her, he really liked someone whom he knew he could never be with. His dad expected him to join Team Rocket-he'd been training since he was able to walk, and his older sister, Kate, was already a part of it-but he was sick of Team Rocket. If he cut his ties with Team Rocket, though, it would be extremely dangerous, considering, if things went well for his dad, he would take over Team Rocket when Giovanni finally decided to step down. And like many other times before, his family's ties to Team Rocket continued to affect the things he wanted for himself.

Not only could he not be with the girl he had a crush on because he knew she was pinning after someone else, but also because of a more personal issue. Unfortunately for Ben, the girl he had found himself falling for was none other than the girl standing in front of him. And the reason he could never be with her was because his dad, better known as Aero in the Team Rocket community, had gained his fame in Team Rocket for killing Ash Ketchum. And anyone who knows anything about Charlie can figure out how Ben was screwed.

"I'm fine," he told her. Hoping to steer the conversation another way, he asked, "So what are you doing out here? Don't you know it's really late out?"

She cracked a bit of a smile when he copied the words she had spoken to him only seconds ago. But as soon as her smile had appeared, it disappeared. "I was talking to Grayson about something," she frowned, slightly turning her head to look in, what Ben assumed, to be the direction she had just come from.

Sensing something had gone awry in Charlie's conversation with Grayson, Ben raised an eyebrow and gave her an incredulous look. "Didn't go so well?"

"Not really," she huffed. Then, without waiting for him to invite her, she sat down on the bench next to him. Curious about Charlie, Ben's Poochyena slowly made his way over to her so he could sniff her gloved hand. It had already been a bit unnerving when she was standing in front of him, but with her even closer to him, Ben's nerves were going crazy. He didn't know why, but every time he saw her, he had this huge fear she would just look at him and know about his family and their connection Team Rocket. "Ben," Charlie called, "do you think I'm really too stubborn? That I don't think before I so something?"

"Did Grayson tell you that?" he asked, knowing there was only way Charlie would ever be asking his opinion on that. He didn't know Charlie as well as some other people, but he did know that Grayson meant the world to her. Although she may never reveal this to him, Grayson's opinion of her had a large effect on the way she saw herself. Charlie nodded, tightening her grip on Pikachu, who had crawled down from her shoulder and into her lap. "Well, he's wrong."

She looked at him, confused and surprised he had said something like that. Normally, whenever she would ask someone this, they would usually agree with Grayson, and then try to come up with a reason why this wasn't always a bad thing. Not once had anyone ever said Grayson was wrong.

"You're not stubborn, Charlie. You're just really determined. You're not afraid to take a risk or follow what your heart's telling you to do, no matter what others tell you. That was your dad though, right?"

"My dad?"

"Yeah. You told me everyone said he was really stubborn-determined-and that he always followed his heart."

Charlie paused for a second, not recalling ever telling Ben this. True, she'd talked to him before, but she didn't recall ever telling him about her dad and what his friends thought about him. Then again, maybe she had and just wasn't remembering it.

"Oh yeah."

"Well, there you go. It's in your genetics, and it's pretty hard to fight genetics," he assured her. She seemed to nod in agreement. "Why did he tell you that?"

He didn't know if she had heard him, because for a few seconds she said nothing. She just stared down at Pikachu, as if she was debating over whether to tell him what had happened between her and Grayson or not. Finally, though, she turned back toward him, a serious and stern look on her face. "If I tell you, you have to promise me you won't repeat this to anyone."

Charlie knew it was a risk telling Ben about the locket and how it had led to her and Grayson getting into an argument. But as much as she hated to admit it, Grayson was right. She couldn't do this alone, no matter how willing she would be to do this herself. She would ask Laney, but she was gone for a week on vacation, and she'd probably end up telling Charlie the same thing. With this in mind, she figured maybe her best bet would be to seek help from someone who didn't know her as well, and who wouldn't probably try to stop her. Plus, Ben had even said he didn't think she was stubborn, something that, she had to admit, made her rather happy to hear him say.

For some time, Ben found himself debating if he should promise not to repeat whatever it was Charlie was about to tell him. How serious was this that she didn't want anyone else to know? If Grayson and her had gotten into an argument over this, than knowing Grayson, Ben figured what Charlie had told him had to be pretty concerning. Maybe it was even dangerous to her life, and that's why he had said those things to her. But if Ben wanted to know, he had to promise her.

"I won't tell anyone."

"Okay." Lifting her hand, she tugged at the chain around her neck and pulled out a necklace. _Did she steal it?_ "This locket," she began, pushing it closer to him so he could see, "was given me today from someone with the initials LP. There was a note that told me if I used the locket I could change a mistake someone made. I didn't know what it meant at first, but then, after an unusual even, I figured it out."

Ben just stared at her, still slightly confused.

"This locket, it can allow you to travel through time. I know you may not believe me, but when I asked it something, it took me back to the day my dad first started his journey."

Then and there, Ben broke out into a coughing fit. He was pretty sure his eyes practically popped out of their sockets, too. The locket she was holding was the exact same locket that had been stolen from Team Rocket, and it was the same locket that was going to cost his dad his job. He was sure of it. But, excuse his language, how the hell did it end up in Charlie's hands?

"You okay?" she asked him, shooting him a look that seemed to ask, 'what's wrong with you?'

"Yeah, I'm fine," he quickly replied, hoping she wouldn't question him more about it. Despite what he had said, though, she still looked at him as if something was seriously wrong with him. "I think some of Poocheyena's fur flew into my mouth…"

Brushing off Ben's odd behavior, Charlie continued on with her story about the locket while Ben freaked out inside. As he sat there, she explained to him how, after traveling through time, she discovered that the person who had made the mistake was her dad. She told him she didn't know the mistake he made, but that, regardless, she was going to use the locket to travel back in time and stop her dad's death.

What Ben was left wondering, however, was how she had gotten it to work in the first place. In the time that it had been with Team Rocket, nobody seemed to be able to figure out how to get the locket to take someone through time. They had always known what it was rumored to do, but not once could someone get it to work. And while he now understood why Grayson had told Charlie to stop and think about this before she did anything, Ben suddenly found himself in a very tough spot. As Charlie explained what she planned on doing in order to save her dad, Ben found himself starting to worry.

Regardless of the fact that his dad was part of Team Rocket, he was still an important person in Ben's life. If Charlie attempted to take out Team Rocket in order to prevent them from killing her dad, that would mean she would be going after his dad. She knew it was him that was responsible for her dad's death, so that meant she had a vengeance. At the same time, though, Ben's feelings toward Charlie had him worrying for her safety. While he knew she was aware of Team Rocket's power, he had a feeling she would underestimate her own ability to take down Team Rocket. If she tried to take on Team Rocket and failed, she could be killed.

He already had to carry around the heavy weight of knowing his dad was responsible for her dad's death; he didn't want Team Rocket to be responsible for her death, too. But he had to tell his dad what he knew; how he knew where the locket was and who it had ended up with.

"Grayson doesn't understand," Charlie told him, a slight hint of anger in her voice. "I know he's worried about me, but I have to do this. He thinks I'm doing this for myself, but I'm not. I'm not the only one who needs my dad."

Sighing, Ben rubbed his hands together as he thought. There was no way she could do this on her own; she needed someone to help her. It was pretty obvious from Charlie's attitude that when she had gone to ask Grayson fro help, he had turned her down. And, he had a feeling she wasn't about to ask her other friends or family members for help, especially if she thought they might say not, too.

"I'll help you."

Charlie whipped her face around to look at Ben, bewilderment in her eyes. "What?"

"I'll help you," he repeated, trying to remain calm. "I'll help you get your dad back."

Just like Charlie, Ben couldn't believe he was agreeing to this. Team Rocket and his dad loomed over his head, but he wanted to help her so bad; he wanted to find a away to give her back what had been wrongfully robbed from her. He still had an allegiance to his family, but if he helped her, maybe, just maybe, he could find a way for her to get her dad back without having to take down Team Rocket.

Unfortunately, though, if he was going to help her, it meant that he had to inform his dad of what was going on. If he just went ahead and helped her without telling him, and it got out that he was involved in a plot to take down Team Rocket behind their backs, terrible things could happen to his family. Plus, if Team Rocket and his dad were aware he was helping Charlie, it would be easier for Ben to protect her. They wouldn't hurt her if she were with him.

"Why?" she asked him. "Why are you helping me?"

Ben just shrugged, pretending he had no idea. Then again, maybe he didn't really know why he was helping her. After all, why would he risk helping her when he could just secretly turn her in and prevent any further problems? "Do you really need a reason to help someone?"

This, surprisingly, mad her smile. "No, I guess not." A small silence fell between them as they both let it sink in that they were going to work as a team. With this in mind, Charlie found herself wondering if maybe Ben was the person she was supposed to work with. The note hadn't told her, but she'd coincidentally run into Ben shortly after uncovering the secret of the locket. It might have sounded crazy, but she had a feeling it was him who was supposed to help her.

Glancing at her watch, Charlie suddenly leaped up, a sense of alarm in her manner. "It's 11:00 already?" she blurted, scrambling to hop off the bench. "I need to get home before they send out a search party!" For a second she scrambled to find a Pokeball on her belt, but then she stopped to stare at Ben. "Oh, umm…"

"It's fine. I understand. We can meet tomorrow and talk about a plan if you want," he suggested. With more time, he could hopefully come up with a plan that would work out the best.

"Sure sounds good." Again, she just stared at him, her responses slightly delayed. "I'll be at the training center tomorrow in room 7 if you want to meet me there?"

"Sure."

"Okay, well, um, bye! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye," he waved from his spot on the bench. Convinced now was the right time for her to head out, Charlie hopped on her bike and peddled the other way, practically sprinting her way back home. "Good luck, Charlie.

OOOO

That night, as Ben let himself back into his house, he was surprised to see the kitchen light on. Normally when he left to avoid his parents' arguing, by the time he returned home, they were already in bed for the night.

"Is that you, Ben?" he heard his dad's voice travel to the front door from the kitchen.

"Yeah," he replied as he pulled off his coat and hung it back up on the coat rack. Pulling of his shoes, he set them beside the door before heading into the kitchen. Burring his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt, he hesitantly entered the kitchen. "What are you doing up?" he asked his dad, hoping this would be an okay conversation topic.

"Trying to figure out how to hunt down this damn locket," Aero replied, frustration in his voice. It was then that Ben noticed the kitchen table his dad was sitting at was covered with papers and files, all detailing things about the locket and the plan for it. "It was kept in some of the highest security. Whoever took it had to have known what was involved in the security system and how to turn it off long enough to steal the locket."

"Maybe it was someone who designed the system?" Ben suggested.

Aero just sighed. It quickly became evident to Ben that his dad wasn't really in the mood for taking suggestions. "Maybe. But I doubt it. Those people don't work for Team Rocket, and they didn't know what the security system was even for."

"What happens if you don't find it?" Ben asked his dad, even though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

Normally his dad was someone who he would pin as not scared of anything, but as Ben watched his reaction to his question, for just a second, he swore he saw a flash of fear on his dad's face. "Bad things, Ben. Bad things."

It was times like this where Ben's loyalty to his family and their condition won out over any feelings toward girls or friends. If his dad didn't reclaim the locket for Team Rocket and Giovanni, his whole family would suffer a terrible fate-including him. But if he told his dad he knew where the locket was, he could help protect his family.  
"Dad," he called out to him. Pulling out a chair, Ben took a seat across from his dad and gave him the most serious look he could muster, "I found the locket.

"What?" Aero's head shot up, and his mouth gaped open in shock. For a moment, Ben was convinced his dad would leap across the table and grab his shoulders, begging Ben to tell him everything he knew. "Where, Ben? Where?"

If there was one thing Ben had learned through Team Rocket, it was that power wasn't such a bad thing to have. It could put you in positions you never dreamed of, leading many to do anything in order to gain more. One of those ways was through information, something Ben currently had. Through having the information that would save his dad from losing his job, Ben had gained an exceptional amount of power.

"If I tell you, I want you to promise me something."

Aero just looked at his son like he had two heads. "What do you think this is, Ben? Some game? You tell me that information right now, and forget about that little promise."

"No," Ben firmly replied, making sure not to let his guard down. Charlie's safety was in his hands, and he wasn't about to give in so easily unless he knew she would be okay. "You promise me what I want, and you get your information."

Ben could tell he had really ticked off his dad by the steady growing of red in his face. Unless he was dealing with Giovanni, his dad wasn't one who typically found himself in a situation where he wasn't the most powerful person in the room, especially where his son had power over him. So, for Ben to play this game with him of 'you give me what I want, and I'll give you what you want,' was only making him angrier. Most people in Team Rocket would never dare to do something like this with Ben's dad, but this was different. While his dad didn't care much if another member of Team Rocket got in trouble, his own son getting in trouble was a different story. Unlike the other members of Team Rocket, Ben was pretty sure his dad wouldn't turn on him. He cared too much about him.

"I'll give you the information you want so long as you let me get the locket on my own, and you promise me nobody gets hurt," Ben stated his demands.

Aero raised his eyebrow in surprise, a bit skeptical about his son's requests. "So you do the work for me, so long as I promise nobody gets hurt?" The way his dad worded it made things sounded so simple, but Ben knew it was a lot more complicated than that.

"Right," Ben nodded. "You give me one week, and I'll have that locket for you."

"I can work with that," his dad answered back. "But if you don't get me that locket back in a week, the deal's off, and I can't be held accountable for any actions I may have to take to reclaim the locket."

"Deal," Ben answered, his heat fluttering in nervousness. He had one week to get the locket back and get Charlie her dad back, or it was all over.

"So where's the locket, Ben?"

"With Charlie Ketchum."


	5. Chapter 5

AN: The votes are in, and the majority of you would like me to continue the story. The story will be the same, but I took some of your suggestions, and tweaked the story to fix the bugs you guys noticed. Things like: What was the point in traveling to see if the locket could take you a certain place? Misty's not dumb, so she would know about time travel. Why wouldn't LP save Ash himself? (Those will eventually be answered.) Also, a lot of you were worried there would be no Ash in the other story idea I had, and while there would have been, I decided to give him a slightly bigger role in this one. Hopefully these changes will help improve the story, but if you notice any other bugs or inconsistencies, please let me know.

For now, I removed the Alto Mare chapter, and it will be replaced with something slightly different. Also, so you don't have to go back and reread the first chapter, the letter to Charlie says something slightly different. Charlie still reads it as saving her dad, but it tells her instead to work with someone to help change a mistake someone made long ago. Other than that, everything is the same-Charlie still has the locket, Ben is still helping her.

Thanks again for your input and your patience. It was really helpful!

* * *

_Chapter 5_

* * *

_A kid from Pallet Town  
With a brand new world to see  
Don't know what's ahead  
But it won't get the best of me_

Knitting his eyebrows in confusion, Grayson stared at the young man still passed out on his couch. While heading home from Morgan's he'd ran into the boy, who had been passed out a few yards from his house. At first he thought he was a new trainer who had possibly passed out from exhaustion, but now that he had gotten a closer look, the boy didn't look like a little kid, but rather someone his age.

Even though he wasn't standing up, the boy appeared to be about the same height as Grayson, leading him to further conclude that the boy wasn't a new trainer. His hair reminded Grayson of Charlie's friend Drew, except it was slightly messier looking, and a tad shorter. But unlike Drew, the boy had auburn hair instead of green. And as far as his clothing went, he wore a royal blue shirt and khaki shorts.

Hearing the groans and moans as the boy began to move around on the couch, Grayson sucked in his breath, slightly worried about what might happen next. Having passed out, he was fairly confident that the boy would be a little freaked out when he woke up and had no idea where he was.

Slowly opening his eyes, the boy let out a big yawn, taking a moment to stare at the ceiling.

"Oh good! You're awake!" he heard a voice say to him. To his confusion, however, the voice sounded nothing like the person he had expected to be waiting for him to wake up. "I was a little worried since I found you passed out near my house."

_Their house? _Even more confused, the boy turned to his right to get a good look at the person talking to him. When he did, his mouth gaped open and his eyes shot wide open. The person-or rather the boy-staring back at him was far from the little girl he had expected to see. Still, he recognized the boy as a much older version of the little girl's best friend.

Seeing the boy start to freak out, Grayson attempted to try and calm him down. "Don't freak out, okay?" he cautioned him, trying to keep his own voice steady and smooth. "You're in my house. I brought you here after I found you unconscious. Since it was late, I was worried something might happen to you."

"Grayson?"

"Uh…yeah," Grayson replied, a bit creeped out the stranger knew his name. "How do you know my name?"

"What do you mean how do I know your name?" the boy asked. Didn't Grayson recognize him? He'd seen the boy-at least a younger version of him-just yesterday. "You're Charlie's best friend. I've known you since you were little…although, clearly, you're not little anymore."

"Really?" Grayson asked. "Because I have no idea who you are."

Things were staring to turn really weird for Grayson. He'd never seen this boy before, yet he knew who he was and who his best friend was. There as a chance the boy knew who he was from seeing him on TV with Charlie, but the boy claimed to have known him his entire life. And if that was the case, how come Grayson couldn't recall this boy's name?

"But I saw you yesterday," the boy argued back. "Charlie went to your house after daycare. Your mom picked her up for me because I'm always running late."

Grayson just stared, baffled by what he was hearing. Due to traveling around with Charlie, he'd witnessed some pretty crazy things happening, but nothing like what he thought was going on now. True, he hadn't seen the boy before in his life, but the things he kept talking about pointed toward somebody else Grayson had once knew. But there was no way that was possible; it was just too weird. Plus, Grayson couldn't come up with a logical explanation for the how. But if there was one thing he had learned from Charlie, it was that sometimes even the craziest things could be true, and that there wasn't always a logical or scientific explanation for why things happened.

"Mr. Ketchum?"

"You can just call me Ash, Grayson," Ash replied, letting out a small chuckle. Although his mom had taught Grayson to be respectful and call him Mr. Ketchum, Ash had always insisted that Grayson just call him Ash. "Mr. Ketchum makes me feel kind of old."

Grayson wasn't paying attention, though. Nope. He was too shocked by what had just been revealed. There was no explanation for the how or the why, but there was no doubt in his mind that this was Charlie's dad. He looked nothing like Grayson remembered or had seen in pictures, but the person inside the boy was Charlie's dad through and through.

"So, um, do you know where Charlie is? I didn't pass out on my way to get her from daycare did I?" Ash asked. "Because if I did, those teachers are going to kill me."

Shaking his head to snap him back to reality, Grayson focused on the task at hand. Although he didn't know how this had happened to Charlie's dad, he was still going to have to explain a lot to him.

"Um…Ash?" Grayson called. Once he had Ash's full attention, he continued on. "I think you might want to go look in a mirror."

"Do I look that bad or something?" Ash asked, thinking Grayson was trying to warn him from walking outside in the state he was in. Maybe he'd hit his head when he passed out, and now there was a huge bruise.

"Just go look," Grayson repeated. Pointing in the direction of the hallway, he said, "There's a bathroom down that way. First door on the right."

"Don't worry, Grayson, I remember what your house looks like," Ash assured him. After all, Grayson and his family had lived in the same house. And based upon his quick scan of the room, it appeared this was still the same house.

"Okay. I'll um…explain everything when you get back."

_Explain everything?_

Briskly walking out of the room, Ash headed straight to the bathroom where he could assess the situation at hand. Once there he shut the door and turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on his face. Lifting his head, he suddenly stopped when he got a look at himself in the mirror.

"WAHHHHHH!" he hollered as he scampered backwards, only to crash into the toilet. Reaching out his hand to try and break his fall, he managed to grasp a towel, pulling it and the rack holding it off the wall. And as he fell to the ground, he hit his head against the toilet seat. _Ow! Ow! Ow! _As his heart pumped against his chest, he dared himself to take another peek in the mirror. Slowly getting up, he massaged the sore part of his head and tried to calm himself done. "Calm down, Ash. There's a logical explanation for this," he muttered quietly to himself. As he looked at himself in the mirror again, seeing the changes his body had undergone, he quickly doubted himself. "No there's not."

No longer did he have the same spiky black hair or brown eyes; instead he had short, messy auburn hair and blue eyes with a tint of grey in them. And just when he thought things couldn't get worse, he quickly discovered that he had regressed to being a teenager again.

_What the hell is going on? _

Before he could answer his pressing question, there was a knock on the door, followed by a voice. "Yeah…so, as I said, I need to explain some things to you," he heard Grayson say. Instead of replying, he opened the door, allowing him to see the condition of the bathroom. "What happened?"

Glancing back at the mess he caused when he freaked out, Ash turned back to Grayson, chuckling nervously as he used one hand to rub the back of his neck. "Just forget about that," he replied sheepishly. "So…do you know what's happening to me?"

"No."

"But you said-"

"I don't know how this happened to you, but I can tell you that you're in the future, and there a lot of things you should know about how it's changed."

He was in the future? That explained why Grayson appeared to be older than how he remembered him, but it only left Ash wondering just how much had changed over time, and how far into the future he had been sent. And, if this was the future, where was Charlie, and why couldn't he remember anything past October 18th-the day he thought it was?

"Look, just come with me, and I'll explain everything," Grayson stated once more.

While it was probably easier for him to go get Charlie and have her explain everything to her dad, that wasn't exactly an option right now. It was already late at night, and Charlie was still mad at him about earlier. Plus, if Charlie didn't know who this boy was, maybe he could stop her from putting herself into danger.

"Okay." Ash followed Grayson knowing he didn't really have any other options. Only Grayson knew the answers to the questions that were whirling through his mind. Only Grayson knew where Charlie was and probably even why he couldn't recall anything about the future. He had no choice but to trust Grayson and what he told him. "By the way, do you know where Pikachu is?"

When he had woken up, thinking he was in his apartment, he wasn't concerned about Pikachu's whereabouts. And while he had quickly learned that he wasn't in his apartment, he was so focused on where he was and where Charlie was, that he had forgotten to ask about Pikachu. Now that he somewhat understood what was going on, he couldn't help but notice his faithful Pokemon missing from his side.

"He's with Charlie," Grayson quickly replied. "But like I said, there's a lot I need to explain to you."

Sighing, Ash followed Grayson, not even bothering to ask anything else. He'd probably get the same answer. At least he knew Pikachu was safe with Charlie, wherever that was in the future.

Opening the door to his room, Grayson held the door open so Ash could enter first. Ash had never been in Grayson's room before, but it looked what he might expect a teenage boy's room to look. In the middle of the room, near a window, was Grayson's bunk bed, complete with a navy blue comforter for each bed. In the far corner was a desk that was covered with books and various sheets of paper, as well as miscellaneous office supplies. On the other side of the room was a closet, and near that was a clothes hamper that appeared to be overflowing with dirty clothes.

Noticing the messy state of his room, Grayson quickly ran around picking up various items and stuffing them in piles that made the room look slightly more organized. Running over to his desk, he tried to organize his papers and reshelf his textbooks.

"Sorry," he apologized as he stuck some papers into a textbook and stuffed it back on the shelf above him. "I had a big exam the other day."

"What for?" Ash asked out of curiosity.

Grayson gave Ash a weird look, but then he quickly remembered that he didn't know anything about the future.

"I've been going to Viridian University for the past year and a half," Grayson explained. "I'm studying to be an architect. I've got a ways to go, though."

"Wow."

"Yep. I want to help design buildings they use for battling," Grayson told Ash. "Gyms, stadiums, contest halls, etc," he listed off as he put away another book. "Charlie and I have a joke between us that if she ever becomes a gym leader and opens her own gym, she'll let me design it for her."

"That's nice of you," Ash replied, but he was already focused on something else. It wasn't that he didn't care about what Grayson was trying to do. It was just that he had plenty of time to ask Grayson more about his dreams and aspirations as an architect.

Now that his desk was all cleaned up, Grayson was able to offer Ash a place to sit that didn't require him to maneuver his way around various items. Once Ash sat down, Grayson headed over to his nightstand where he opened the drawer and stuck his hand inside. Rummaging through the junk he had thrown in there, he pulled out a stack of photos before slamming the drawer shut. If he was going to explain things, he figured it would probably help Ash to have a visual aid.

Grabbing one of the photos, he handed it over to Ash. "First things first, that's what Charlie looks like now," he stated.

In the photo, Charlie was standing with a victorious smile on her face, a shiny gold trophy in her hand. Squinting his eyes to get a better look at the trophy, Ash saw that it read _Unova League Champion_. Seeing this, Ash was speechless. _Charlie won the Unova League? _

"That was back in April, but that's not really important now," Grayson explained, moving right along. "I just wanted to show you what Charlie looked like now." Sighing, Grayson prepared himself for the hardest thing he would tell Ash tonight. A bombshell in Ash's life, it would leave him probably even more confused than he had been before. Pulling over a beanbag chair, Grayson sat down across from Ash. "When I told you there was a lot that I needed to explain to you, I really meant it. Just try not to freak out, and just trust what I tell you. I know it won't make a lot of sense at first, but it will eventually."

"O-okay…"

"Look, I really don't know else to tell you this, but when Charlie was five-years old, you died."

_I-I di-died? _"Wh-what?' Ash was so stunned he could barely speak the words. He couldn't be dead; he was alive now, sitting here, talking to Grayson. But then again, this was the future according to Grayson. Could he really have died?

Grayson nodded. "You were killed…" Turning his head to the side a bit, Grayson found it hard to look Ash in the eyes. "…by Team Rocket. They captured you and Charlie and took them to their secret base."

Hearing this, Ash clenched his fist in anger. "Those good for nothing, low life-"

"It wasn't Jessie, James and Meowth."

Quickly snapping his head up, Ash gave Grayson an incredulous look. "Huh?"

"It was the other members of Team Rocket," Grayson clarified. After everything Jessie, James and Meowth had done for Charlie, the last thing he wanted was Ash going around thinking they had killed him. "Jessie, James and Meowth tried to save you. I don't know all the details of the story, but according to what Charlie told me they helped break you and her out of there. Unfortunately, though, a member of Team Rocket named, Aero, and the leader, Giovanni, killed you when they ordered their Pokemon to fire a Hyper Beam at you. There was nothing Jessie, James and Meowth could do; they had no way of reaching you in time."

"What about Charlie?" Ash frantically asked. She was alive, right? Grayson had just showed him a picture of her from a few months ago.

"Team Rocket saved her." Relief washed over Ash's face. She'd made it out alive, and all thanks to Team Rocket. He now had a completely different look on the trio who had followed him around in search of Pikachu. But if he was dead, who was taking care of Charlie now? "And since you never told your friends and family about Charlie, they went on to raise her."

Team Rocket had _raised_ his daughter? Charlie was living with Jessie, James and Meowth? "Are you sure this is the future and not some alternate reality?" Ash asked, causing Grayson to laugh a bit. There was no way Charlie was living with Team Rocket. Even if they had saved her, there was no way he would willing give them Charlie to raise as their own daughter. That was crazy! But, like Grayson had said, his friends and family knew nothing about Charlie. Knowing this, Team Rocket would have had to keep Charlie to keep his secret from getting out. "How's nobody know who they are?"

"Disguises." _That makes a lot of sense. _Before digging holes, creating disguises to fool everyone was one Team Rocket's best talents. It would only make sense that they would use this to hide their true identity from the world and from Charlie. "But Charlie didn't find out until the Christmas of the year she stared her Pokemon journey."

"They went five years without telling her?"

Grayson nodded. "It was because of you."

"Me?"

"When you were being held by Team Rocket, you created a scavenger hunt for Charlie," Grayson explained, detailing the famous story Charlie's friends and family still talked about even years later. "If you didn't make it out alive, she was to complete the scavenger hunt when she first started her Pokemon journey." Taking a deep breath, Grayson dared himself to look back at Ash. "You gave her a note card for each city in Kanto with a clue that was supposed to help her find someone. When she found them, she was supposed to give them a letter from you, and then you wrote her a separate letter telling her who each person was."

"Who were they?"

"Your friends and your mom," Grayson told him. "Or, as Charlie knew them: The Tomboy Mermaid, The Ladies Man, The Watcher, The Princess of Hoenn, The Braniac, Dee-Dee, The Dragon Master, The Connoisseur, The Rival and, finally, The Gardener."

All the color instantly drained from Ash's face. The one thing he had feared more than anything else had come true, and, ironically, because of his own doing. True, he figured, eventually, his friends and mother would have to learn about Charlie's existence, but just the thought of them knowing scared him. But, according to Grayson, he had willingly led Charlie to each one of them; he'd even written each of them letters. _What did I tell them? And why letters and a scavenger hunt? _He wasn't that creative, but somehow he had pulled it off. He had to admit the names he picked had fit them well, too. In all honesty, it was pretty impressive to think he had done all that for her.

"What about Team Rocket?" Ash asked, not hearing a nickname for them come up. If they were waiting for Charlie to complete the scavenger hunt before they told her the truth, he would have thought it was because he had incorporated them into the scavenger hunt.

"They weren't part of it, but they showed up at your mom's during Christmas. They created their own clue and letter for Charlie that told her everything." Ash nodded in understanding. "They also told everyone the truth about what happened to you. Originally, everyone but Charlie thought you were killed when there was a cave in. The only reason they believed that, though, is because Team Rocket had blown up a cave and stuck your body there before calling the police. They were afraid your friends and family would think they did it. And since they couldn't tell them anything about Charlie, that was their only option."

"Oh."

"There's also something else you should know," Grayson told him, already preparing to tell Ash some equally shocking news. "Charlie's mom came back."

For a second Ash stared at Grayson, not understanding, but then he got it. "WHAT?" he practically shouted, quickly covering his mouth when he realized just how loud he was. _Ruby was back? _He figured the two of them would cross paths again sometime, but he never really thought she'd ever come back. Just like when she'd left Pallet Town the day she stared her journey, he knew leaving him would turn out the same way. And while he was shocked she had returned, he was more worried about the effect it had left on Charlie. "When?"

"When Charlie was ten. She'd finally returned home and the clue for Viridian City talked about your rival, Gary Oak, who, by the way, you gave your training center to." _I gave my training center to Gary Oak? _Ash questioned himself, not understanding why he would do something like that. _Although, I can't deny he would be the right person. Still…_"Anyways, we figured out the clue was talking about Gary, so we went to deliver the letter to him at the training center. He already knew who Charlie was, but when he started to read the letter, he suddenly got really angry and rushed out the door. Charlie wanted to know why, so she followed him and we sat outside the door where he was talking to someone. Turns out, he was talking to Ruby and Charlie ended up hearing everything: how you two met, what led to her…you know…why Ruby really left."

Hearing Grayson's words, Ash could only imagine the profound effect the truth had on Charlie. She'd gone her whole life being told by him that both her parents loved her and that she had been a happy surprise. But then to learn that she was an accident because he and Ruby were too drunk to process what was going on? It was far from the storybook ending she'd always believed in. That wasn't how Ruby was supposed to reappear in Charlie's life-if things ever did come to that. She wasn't supposed to enter with life altering news.

"Charlie didn't take it well at first, but things ended up working themselves out. Gary took her and Ruby to Pallet Town for Christmas and things seemed to be go better after that."

Ash couldn't believe it. Gary had gotten Ruby to go back to Pallet Town, the one place she had vowed she'd never return to. How? In all his time spent with Ruby, he could never to get her to go there. In fact, he was kind of surprised she had ended up in Viridian, a place so close to the town she hated so much. He wondered if Gary had drugged Ruby to get her there. Then again, if he had, Ruby would have probably killed him when she finally came to.

"What happened after that?" Ash asked, curious if any other earth-shattering events had occurred without him there. "Did Brock get married?" _Now THAT would be an earth-shattering event, _Ash chuckled quietly to himself.

Grayson laughed, too, having understood Ash's joke from all the time he had spent with Charlie and her family and friends. "Not that same year, but he got married a few years later to some breeder named Susie." Ash's mouth gaped open in shock. Brock was actually married! And not to some weirdo either. "May and Drew got married, too, as well as Tracey and Daisy. Oh, and Ruby and Gary got married."

"They…They GOT MARRIED?"

Ash didn't think he could be more shocked by what the other things Grayson had yet to say, but, apparently, he had been wrong. Ruby had _married_ Gary! Ruby had married Gary Oak, his rival since childhood. That meant…_Gary's Charlie's step-dad! _Ash couldn't take it anymore. He was pretty sure his head was about to explode.

Seeing how Ash had reacted to learning that Gary and Ruby were married, Grayson figured it was best if he held off on telling him about Adam for now. So, instead, he decided to tell Ash a brief summary of what Charlie and his friends had been up to. Seeing as he'd gotten the hard and rather depressing news out of the way, everything else would be a little more up beat.

"Right, so moving along…After traveling through Kanto, Charlie and I went to the Orange Islands together, and we've been traveling partners ever since. She's done really well, too. Not only did she win the Unova League, but she's also won the Orange League, the Hoenn League, and then she came back and beat the Kanto League. She's also done some contest battling and actually won the Kanto Grand Festival. She's kind of a powerhouse when it comes to battling. She's not unbeatable, but she's one of the toughest opponents out there."

Unlike his feelings of anger and astonishment toward what Grayson had told him before, Ash was filled with pride. Pride for the way Charlie had done. Just like she used to tell him as a kid, she'd dominated the competition and showed them who she really was. She was going places, and it seemed she wasn't going to make the same mistakes as him. If she wanted to, he was sure she could be a Pokemon Master or maybe a member of the Elite Four -maybe even a gym leader like Grayson had mentioned.

"She works down at the training center now, too," Grayson added. "She teaches a class for younger kids Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I can take you there tomorrow morning if you want. I usually battle her on Fridays as a treat for the kids."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

Like that? He would love that! Ever since Grayson had told him about everything that had happed, he'd been itching to see Charlie. Even in someone else's body, he was concerned about her and how she was doing. Seeing as there wasn't really anyone else in her life since he'd died, he had a feeling his death had taken a heavy toll on her.

"Cool."

Grayson smiled, but he really didn't know why. It was like the reality of Charlie's dad being here and alive was finally just hitting him. True, Ash hadn't been his dad, but he'd always looked up to him. And when his parents had gotten divorced, Ash and Charlie had been there for him when things got messy between his parents. Ash had let him stay there whenever he wanted and for however long, no matter the time of day or what he had going on. While Grayson had a feeling it had to do with the fact that he had always been there for Charlie, he was still appreciative of everything Charlie and Ash had done for him. So, to sit here and be talking to the role model he'd lost many years ago? Well, Grayson couldn't stop smiling he was so happy.

"So how's Charlie doing? Outside of battling and training Pokemon?" Ash asked. Since for now he couldn't see her and talk to her, Grayson was his only source of information. That didn't mean it wasn't a bad one, though.

"She's alive," Grayson teased, causing Ash to smirk back at him. While there were still many others who would find this statement funny, to Ash, it summed up pretty much everything he needed to know about Charlie, as well as the results of any mischief she had gotten herself into. "But really? She's doing okay, I guess. Things are much better since she met all your friends, but if know her as well as I do, you can notice the slight changes. She misses you a lot, and she doesn't really get along with Ruby. She just pretends to for the media, but her and Ruby don't get a long."

Ash frowned a bit, letting his eyes shift toward the ground. He'd always thought that if Ruby came back, her and Charlie could patch things up, but he knew that probably would never happen. Ruby had waited too long and, while he might tell her things could be fixed, even he had to admit it would be a long shot. Now that Charlie understood that Ruby hadn't left her to go on a Pokemon journey, she probably looked at Ruby in a whole new-and not so positive-light.

"She sometimes gets into arguments with Gary and Brock, too," Grayson added, recalling Charlie's numerous disagreements with Ash's sometimes over-bearing friends. "Oh and me." How could he forget himself? "It's nothing bad or alarming. They just took your whole watch over Charlie for me promise a bit too serious. When we were traveling, Brock would make her call him every time we reached a town. If she didn't, he would keep calling until she did. Plus, he and Gary are freaked out about her dating and doing anything related to that. Charlie thinks its because they don't want her to repeat the same thing you did. It doesn't really work, though because she's convinced that'll never happen."

While Grayson knew he had to explain to Ash what had gone on since his death, he didn't feel it necessary to reveal to him anything about Charlie's love life. Plus, if she ever did find out this was her dad, she'd probably kill Grayson if he told her dad anything about her dating life. She'd sworn him to secrecy against Brock and Gary and Daniel, so her dad was no exception. If anything, since it was her dad, it would probably be even worse. While Charlie wasn't the wild child Gary and Brock probably feared she would become, Charlie was a bit more lenient when it came to the rules. And if Ash or anyone found out about some of the stuff Charlie had done-if you ask him, it wasn't really that bad compared to what some of the kids were doing-she'd be in big trouble.

Ash couldn't help but find it ironic that Gary and Brock of all people were patrolling his daughter's love life. He did appreciate someone being concerned with who she dated and what she did with said boyfriend, but even he thought Charlie wouldn't make the same mistake he did. She knew what it was like to live a life like that, so why would she want to have her own kid live through that. Then again, hadn't he done the same thing with Charlie?

"And as for me, well, Charlie gets mad when I tell her I don't think she should do something," Grayson explained. _Just like today._ "But you know Charlie. She's stubborn and she does whatever she wants with or without your approval."

_That's my daughter_. Taking after him, she was headstrong, choosing to do something even if she would be putting herself into danger. "I see she hasn't changed much in personality then?"

"Nope," Grayson said matter of factly. "But, despite all the arguments we've gotten into, I'm glad after everything she's gone through, she's still the same Charlie."

Ash nodded, a small smile on his face. At the same time, though, he was pretty nervous to see what Charlie was like now. A lot of time had passed since when he'd last seen here, and then she'd been only five-years old. Now, she was practically an adult, and she had achieved so much and gone through some pretty drastic changes. He believed Grayson when he said Charlie was pretty much the same personality wise, but everyone changes a bit when they get older.

"Hey Grayson? Thanks for telling me everything." Grayson nodded as if to say it was no problem. "And thanks for looking out for Charlie. I know she's not the easiest to keep out of trouble, but I appreciate you always being there for her. "

Although Grayson knew Ash was being sincere, he couldn't help but blush a bit in embarrassment. Nobody had ever thanked him for watching Charlie's back-not even Charlie herself. He just did it because he cared and because he didn't want something bad to happen to her. Granted, it was probably a full time job, but he didn't really mind so much. Plus, she was always there for him in return.

"No problem," Grayson assured him. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Ash nodded, but then a frown quickly found its way onto his face. Grayson was right, and his all to familiar statement left a negative effect on Ash. Just like Grayson had done for Charlie, his friends had always been there for him. They'd supported him in his dream, cheered him on his big matches, and even given up their responsibilities to travel with him. No matter what, they were always there to help him out, but in the end he had failed them and let them down. He wasn't the friend to them that they had been to him.

He was in the future now, though, and only Grayson knew of his existence. Everyone else thought he was dead. And so long as they still believed this, he could have a second chance. As someone they had never met before, he could do better than just the letters and give them the closure they needed. He would make it up to him, and he'd make it up to Charlie for everything he'd kept from them.

"If you want, you can look at the rest of the photos," Grayson offered as he handed the remaining stack of photos to Ash. "And I'm sure you have more questions, so if you want to know something, just let me know. For now, though, I really need to get to bed if I'm going to be able to wake up tomorrow morning." Hopping out of the chair he had been sitting in, Grayson headed over to his closet. Pulling it open, he grabbed a blanket from inside. "You can sleep on the bottom bunk or the floor if you want. The bed already has blankets, but just in case, I'll give you an extra one."

Setting the extra blanket on the bottom bunk, Grayson headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Once he was gone, Ash headed over to the bottom bunk. Throwing himself onto the bed, he leaned against the pillow as he started scanning through the rest of the photos. To his disappointment, they didn't really provide much info about Charlie and his friends, considering most of photos were from the Unova League and when Charlie and Grayson were younger. Regardless, they were nice to look at.

Once he was done flipping through the photos, Ash set them on the nightstand next to the bed. Tomorrow he would get to see Charlie for the first time and like before, he was nervous about what would be waiting for him. And in a more exciting event, he would get to watch her battle. He'd been waiting for that moment since she first tried to battle with Pikachu.

"I almost forgot," Grayson said as he walked out of the bathroom. "You're going to need a fake name so people can't figure out who you are. Oh, and even though I just told you everything, you have to pretend that you don't know how you really died. Or that you have no idea about the letters. When the world found out that Charlie was your daughter, she told the media the same lie Team Rocket originally told your friends. If she finds out you know you were killed by Team Rocket, she'll know I told you."

"O-okay," Ash replied, still confused. Now he had to pretend he didn't know anything Grayson had just told him? That seemed…odd. He figured it made sense, though. He didn't know how long he would be here, so there was no point in him getting Charlie's hopes up. Also, if everyone but Grayson thought he was just some random trainer, he could see and learn the effects his death had on his friends and family. He could probably get them to tell him stuff they would never say if they knew his real identity. "Um…let's see. I'll be Tom…Tom Ato."

"You can't be that," Grayson sighed, letting his shoulders slump. "Charlie knows that story; she'll know its you right away."

"Oh. Well, how about A-"

"You can't be Adam either." Not only was that the name Grayson remembered Ash using to hide his identity, but it was also the name of Gary and Ruby's son, who Ash had yet to cross paths with. "How about Joey?"

"That's fine."

"Alright then. Joey it is." Flicking the lights off in his room, Grayson climbed up the ladder into his bed. Resting his head on the pillow, he pulled the covers over him and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Joey. See you in the morning."

"Hey Grayson?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I could borrow some Pokemon from you?" Ash asked. "I don't seem to have any."

"Yeah. No problem," Grayson replied. "We'll worry about that in the morning."

With that said, Ash and Grayson both closed their eyes, no longer fighting the sleepiness they were feeling.


	6. Chapter 6

**IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE CHAPTER BEFORE THIS (IT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED AND UPDATED 8/15/12) PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU READ THAT FIRST. OTHERWISE, YOU'LL BE SLIGHTLY CONFUSED. **

Just for fun: Here's a link if you want to listen to the battle music from the anime- (YouTube site) / watch?v=TTzdcSnW3EU&feature=iv&src_vid=Xdsfa-7Rw0Y&annotation_id=annotation_742170

If you can't access it, just hum the original Trainer Battle music in your head. Or whatever theme you feel fits with the battle. :)

* * *

_Chapter 6_

* * *

___I won't lose! I'm in full serious mode!  
I absolutely won't give up until the very end!  
Because tomorrow, I want to look back and smile  
I'll decide this with the next hit  
____I'm sure I'll win!_

The next morning when Ben walked down to breakfast, he was pretty surprised to see his dad sitting at the kitchen table. Normally, he and Ben's sister Kate were already at work by this time. Acting as if this wasn't anything out of the ordinary, Ben made his way to refrigerator and grabbed some milk.

"Ben, he heard his dad call his name. Knowing he couldn't ignore him for very long, Ben proceeded to pour himself a glass of milk before turning around to face his dad. Gesturing to the empty seat across from him, Aero invited his son-more like commanded him-to sit down. "We need to discuss this whole locket thing. I was thinking it over last night, and I changed my mind about how I want you to go about getting this locket back."

_Changed his mind?_ Ben didn't recall asking his dad to help him get the locket back last night. For starters, he hadn't asked him for advice on getting locket back, nor did he intend to seek his dad's advice. At the same time, though, Ben couldn't help but notice his dad seemed a lot more calm and relaxed about this whole locket thing. All Ben had asked him to do was not go after Charlie until he was able to reclaim the locket himself. If he was planning on changing his mind about their deal, though, Ben, well, he wasn't sure what he would do, but it wouldn't end well for his dad.

"I'm still going to give you a week to get it back yourself, but I want you to do a few things for me while you're at it," his dad explained. While it might seem like a good thing that his dad wasn't going to change his mind about Ben getting the locket, Ben knew what his dad would ask of him wouldn't be much better. "First things first, I want you to get close to Charlie."

"What do you mean get close to her?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow at the possible implications of what his dad was asking him.

Understanding what his son thought he meant, Aero couldn't help but laugh. "No, not like that Ben," he teased his son, a smug grin on his face. "But if it helps our plan, but all means, go right ahead." Ben almost spat out his milk at this. Never in a million years would he ever suspect his dad to tell him to_ befriend_ Charlie, let alone potentially try to date her. (If that's what he meant by getting close to Charlie) Clearly something was up, but Ben had no idea what that might be. Then again, as the saying goes you should always keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. "Just get her to trust you and treat you like a friend. Find out everything you can about her-who she trusts, her Pokemon, her dad, her current family and friends. Find out anything you can."

"Why?

"Well," Aero replied, shooting his son an evil looking smirk that only indicated he had an alternative plan, "through all this, I want you to find a point in her life where you can make sure she never meddles with Team Rocket again."

"You want me to kill her?" he asked, shocked beyond belief. He knew his dad hadn't flat out asked him to do that, but it was pretty obvious what his twisted words really meant.

"Not really," he answered back, shaking his head. "I want you to just make sure she never finds out about her dad or that locket. And if her being out of the picture permanently is the only way this can be achieved, then…well, you understand."

"No," Ben replied, making sure his voice was firm and unmoving. "I won't do it. I won't kill her."

"I'm not asking you to kill her, Ben," Aero reminded his son.

"Yet," Ben shot back as he glared at his dad. Like his dad had said before, technically he wasn't asking Ben to kill Charlie, but Ben knew his dad might eventually ask him if it came down to it. If he agreed to his dad's plan and then was unable to find a way to prevent Charlie from learning about her dad or the locket, he would probably ask him to find a way to make sure she was never born. On the flipside, though, if his dad knew he didn't do it, he might just go ahead and complete the job himself. "She didn't steal the locket; someone gave it to her. She's innocent, and if you just give me the time I asked for, I can stop her and get the locket back."

Ben could tell that, like the previous night, his dad was only getting angrier each time he refused to do what he asked or withheld information his dad needed. Ben knew how important this locket was to his dad and Team Rocket, but there was an easier way to get it back without having to hurt Charlie.

"Look, I'll get close to her and learn about her," Ben agreed, knowing if he at least promised his dad that, maybe, he would leave him alone for a while. "And, I'll try to see if I can a way for her to have never learned about her dad or the locket. I promise I'll do everything I can to get that locket back, but I'm not going to kill her no matter what happens."

"And if you fail?"

"I won't," Ben assured his dad. He couldn't fail. Charlie's safety and maybe even her life practically depended on him.

Interlocking his fingers, Aero rested his hands on the table and stared at his son. "One week, Ben," he reminded his son as if Ben didn't' already know. Ever since he had agreed to the timeline, it felt like he could hear the precious seconds ticking by. Glancing at his watch, Aero turned back to his son. "It appears as if you've only got 6 days left."

"I know," Ben replied, even though the time sounded off to him. Apparently, without his knowing, his dad had counted yesterday night as a full day from his one week. That only meant he had even less time.

Standing up, Aero made his way over to his son's side of the table, stopping right in front of him. Just when Ben thought he was going to head of to work, Aero pulled out a knife and pressed it against Ben's cheek. "I know you know what she's up to," he spat in Ben's ear, sending a chill running up and down his son's spine. Although he wasn't pressing very hard, Ben could feel a slight prick from the tip of the blade. "So if I were you, I'd stick to the plan."

"Why wouldn't I?" Ben replied, his voice shaky despite the fact that he was trying to hid his fear and come across as unintimidated. Never before had his dad ever done anything this extreme, let alone to Ben. He knew this locket was important to his dad's career, but it was like the locket had changed his dad.

"Team Rocket doesn't appreciate traitors, so you better not mess this up," Aero whispered in his son's ear. Ben would have nodded to show he understood, but he was afraid it would cause the knife to cut his cheek. Nevertheless, his statement of understand didn't seem to be enough. In Aero's mind, his son needed a visual reminder that he and everyone else would see everyday. It would be a visual reminder to his son of just what organization his son would be crossing if he decided to help the enemy. So, in one swift movement, he let the knife cut across Ben's cheek, leaving a gash that wasn't too big, but could still be clearly seen. "Don't forget, Ben." Putting away the knife, Aero let go of his son and headed off to work like nothing had happened.

When Ben heard the front door shut behind his dad, he ran to the sink to try and wash the blood from his cheek. Although it hadn't been a very deep cut, the pain that remained only enforced the fact that his dad had gotten his point across loud and clear. Grabbing a paper towel from the roll near the sink, he let it soak under the faucet before using it to wipe away the blood. While he was furious with his dad for doing something like this to him, he was even more scared than before.

Clearly, he had been wrong to think his dad would hold back when it came to hurting his own son. Then again, Ben wondered if he had gotten too cocky, thinking he could get his dad to agree to more than he wanted to. In the end, though, it was very clear that if Ben didn't do what his dad wanted, his dad would make sure he did.

Throwing the dirty paper towel into the trash, Ben headed back upstairs in search of some first aid equipment he could use. How he was going to hide this from his mom, he didn't know. If she saw it, she would freak out and demand he tell her how he had gotten it. If he told her it was from his dad, though, that would only cause more problems. Maybe he could just tell her he had received it from a Pokemon. After all, it would be completely believable, considering how many times he was injured before because of them. But no matter what, he had to try and cover the cut up the best he could, even if it meant he had to steal some of his sister Kate's makeup.

OOOO

When Ben walked into the training center, he wasn't really sure what to expect. For starters, he found it odd that Charlie had asked him to meet her there to discuss something she wanted to keep private. Although the training center wasn't exactly the most populous place in Viridian City, it wasn't exactly the best place one could pick to discuss private things. Nevertheless, this is where Charlie wanted to meet, so when Ben got there, he headed toward the training room she had told him to meet her in. Upon entering the room, however, he was a bit confused to see a bunch of little kids standing in front of her.

"Pika!" Pikachu called out as he ran toward Ben. Sensing another person in the room, Charlie turned around to see who had entered the room. To Ben's surprise, she actually smiled when she spotted him walking into the center.

"Ben!" she called, her face instantly lighting up. This only made Ben think that maybe getting Charlie to be his friend wouldn't be as hard as he thought it was going to be. Jogging over to him, she suddenly stopped in front of him, her smile morphing into a frown. "What…what happened to your cheek?"

From Charlie's perspective, the cut on Ben's face looked fresh, some dried blood still covering the area. Although she was by no means a doctor, the cut looked pretty bad, maybe to the point where he might need stitches.

Ben just sighed. No matter how hard he tried to hide the cut, it was still visible enough for her to notice. Then again, it was still pretty fresh. "I got hit with a Razor Leaf," he told her. There was no way he could tell her the truth, not that he ever would. "I was training with my Treecko, and it doesn't exactly have the best aim."

Instead of backing off now that Ben had given her an answer, Charlie just shot him a 'yeah right' look, folding her arms across her chest. It was obvious he way lying to her because if he had even had a Treecko, he would have been able to pick out he major flaw in his statement. "Treecko can't learn Razor Leaf," she stated, a know-it-all look on her face.

"How would you know that?" He challenged her, not about to give up on his like. She could be making it up. "Do you specialize in Grass Pokemon?"

"No," she answered back, unfazed by his accusation, "but my mom does." _Oh yeah…_How could he have forgotten such a crucial detail? Ruby, Charlie's mom, was an Elite Four member who specialized in Gras Pokemon. Of course Charlie would know about them. "Plus, I've grown up around a Pokemon Breeder and two Pokemon Researchers. I know enough about Pokemon to know that Treecko can't learn Razor Leaf."

"Why do you care anyway?" Ben shot back, giving up on trying to fight against her cold hard facts.

"It looks bad," she answered back, letting her hands fall to her side as the frown reappeared on her face. "You should probably go to the hospital and get it checked out. You might need stitches."

"It's fine," he assured her. Going to the hospital would not make this better, no matter what Charlie might feel. "I'll just heal up on its own anyway."

"But you should really get it checked out first," she protested. "Stop being a boy and just admit it's bad! It could get infected!"

"Charlie, I'm fine."

"Fine," she huffed. Despite her reputation of being stubborn, Ben figured she had to give up on things every now and then. "But how'd you get it? And don't say from a Razor Leaf because you and I both know that's a big lie."

Maybe he had spoken too soon.

"I…I…" Ben mumbled, stuttering over his words as he tried to think of something else to say. He knew he couldn't blame it on a Pokemon attack because that would be too obvious he was lying. Despite this, deep down, he knew he could never tell her the truth.

Pursing her lip, Charlie turned her face so she was starting Ben directly in the eyes. Although it was pretty obvious, Ben could tell that she didn't believe him for one second, and that she knew he was hiding something from her. Why would he refuse her help if he wasn't hiding anything? "Look Ben," Charlie spoke up, her voice trailing off a bit. Noticing the switch in his demeanor, she was alerted to the fact that there was something more going on. Something personal that was probably unrelated to Pokemon battling. She didn't want to say it out loud to him and be blunt, but there had to be a way for her to let him know if he ever needed anything, she would be there. " I know…I know we don't know each other very well, but if there's anything you need to talk about… I can…"

"Just drop it, okay?" he snapped back her, causing her to recoil a bit in fear. So far, he wasn't doing a very good job of befriending her. "It's fine! I'm fine. I don't' need to go to any hospital, and there's nothing else going on! It was just an accident."

"Okay," she softly replied. Clearly, she wasn't going to uncover the mystery behind Ben's cut today.

Ben could tell that he had kind of hurt her, and honestly, he felt pretty bad about it, too. And if he couldn't already tell on his own, Pikachu's beady, black eyes-as well as the eyes of the children he'd completely forgotten were there-glared back at him, angered that he had hurt one of the most important people in their lives. After all, she was only kindly offering to help. Even if he didn't want to talk about what had happened, he could have handled it a lot better.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, Ben slowly regained his composure. "Hey," he called to her, resting his hand on her shoulder. He could feel her flinch under his touch, afraid he was going to yell at her again, "thanks for caring about me, but don't worry about it, okay?" Charlie looked up at Ben, but she still seemed a bit nervous. To try and prove to her that he wasn't mad, Ben flashed her the most caring smile he could muster. "You've got bigger things to worry about, like trying to figure out a way to save your dad. So, how about you tell me all about your ideas, and I'll help you come up with a plan like I promised?"

To Ben's relief, the thought of planning a way to save her dad seemed to bring a smile to Charlie's face. "Okay," she replied, shooting him a warm smile. "But first did you bring your Pokemon?"

"Yeah." Why wouldn't he have them with him?

"Good," she replied, pulling out a Pokeball and spinning it on her finger. Throwing it up in the air, she let it fall a bit before snatching it in mid air with her hand. "I promised my class a battle, and it looks like my opponent has finally showed up."

OOOO

"It'll be a one on one battle, so I suggest you pick your strongest Pokemon," Charlie explained to Ben.

He may not know a whole lot about Charlie, but something he did know was that it was probably quite the honor to be battling against her. Although she hadn't pursued any careers having to do with battling, she had managed to achieve the status as a highly ranked trainer. She'd won multiple leagues, but she'd never gone on to battle the Elite Four for unknown reasons. Instead, as far as Ben knew, she continued training, and as he was just learning now, taught little kids at the training school. With this in mind, he knew she would probably cream him, but at least he would learn a lot.

"You ready?" she called from the other end of the battlefield.

As Ben glanced over at Charlie, it quickly dawned on him that Charlie might be a bit of a distraction for him during the battle. While it was already hard enough, considering how he felt around her, the way she looked didn't help him out much either. If anything, it only made her stand out. She had on a grey sweater with a blue-green long sleeved shirt underneath it, dark blue jeans, a blue and green scarf, and short, grey boots. As for her hair, her bangs were swept to one side and the rest of her hair was thrown back into a bun that looked like she hadn't put much time into fixing her hair. And as if she didn't stand out enough, her somewhat slanted grin and big, brown eyes seemed to just draw him in.

"Yeah," he finally replied once he had snapped out of his daze.

Grabbing a Pokeball from his belt, Ben gripped it by his side. Although he knew about her status as a trainer, he really didn't know what kind of Pokemon she had. Obviously, she had Pikachu, but other than that, he had no clue. Plus, from what he'd heard about her, not only did she use her own Pokemon, but she also used her dad's Pokemon that she had trained. With that in mind, Charlie had access to an arsenal of Pokemon if she wanted. This meant that, regardless of what she chose, Ben had to use his best Pokemon if he even wanted a chance at coming close to beating her.

"Charizard," she called, tossing up the Pokeball she was holding earlier. When it fell back into her hand, she brought both her hands up like she was stretching, before swinging them back behind her and tossing the Pokeball underhand, "Leeeeet's go!"  
_Well, I'm screwed,_ Ben couldn't help but think to himself. He'd never encountered Charlie's Charizard before this, but from the looks of it, it was pretty strong. In all honesty, though, he never expected her to have a Pokemon like that. It just seemed un-Charlie like. She had always seemed really girl to him, and he didn't mean to offend girls, but Charizard didn't typically cross his mind as a girly Pokemon. If she had a Clefairy or something, than that would probably fit better with her personality. But as he was learning, Charlie was full of surprises and there was still a lot he didn't know about her.

Sighing, Ben grabbed his Pokemon of choice and threw the Pokeball like he was pitching a baseball. "Sealeo, I choose you!"

"A Water and Ice type? Good choice," Charlie remarked as she observed Bens Sealeo. _Hmm…So far it looks like he's not totally incompetent at battling. _Despite her interest in Ben's strategy, she quickly shot him a smirk, her sweet smile from earlier simply vanishing, "but Charizard and I have been together since the first day of my journey. It's going to take a lot more than a simple type advantage to beat us! Right, Charizard?" In response, Charizard let out a mighty roar as it shot some fire from its mouth. This only brought a smile to Charlie's face, encouraging her to tease Ben a bit more. "You better prepare for trouble, Ben! And my Pokemon's not the only thing you should be worried about, so you better make it double!"

Despite her attempts at smack talking, Ben found himself tuning out as her words hit him. "Did she just quote Team Rocket?" He muttered under his breath. Maybe he was over thinking it, or maybe she didn't know what she had said, but he was 99% sure she had quoted the lines to a Team Rocket motto. And, if she recalled correctly, that motto belonged to Jessie and James, the very two members of Team Rocket who had helped Charlie's dad escape. Forgetting what she had said, he moved on to the more important matter at hand: their battle. "Are we going to battle, or are you going to keep talking?"

For a brief moment, she stuck her tongue out at him in a very kid like manner. Mimicking her actions, he pulled down the bottom part of his eyelid and stuck out his own tongue at her. To his enjoyment, this caused her to giggle, her distracting smile reappearing on her face. While it lasted long enough for him to smile right back at her, it quickly faded away as her face morphed into one that reflected seriousness and intense concentration. "Charizard, let's start this out with a Flamethrower!"

Meanwhile, near the entrance of the training room, Grayson and Ash sneaked inside, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Having gotten a bit of a late start that morning, Grayson had really rushed them, afraid he was going to be late for his match with Charlie. From the looks of it, though, it appeared as if Charlie hadn't bothered to wait. Despite this, Grayson still planned on watching the match, leading the way as he and Ash climbed to the top of the bleachers.

"Hey, Adam!" Grayson greeted a little boy who was sitting in a spot somewhat separated from the rest of the group. "Did I miss much?"

Glancing down at the boy Grayson was talking to, Ash's eyes lit up with happiness when he saw his Pikachu sitting in the boy's lap. After having not seen his prized Pokemon for so long, he was relieved to know that he was safe and nowhere near the hands of Team Rocket. Although, despite his happiness over seeing Pikachu, Ash couldn't help but notice that Pikachu looked much older than he remembered. He also looked liked he no longer had the same energy and gusto that he used to have. Plus, mixed in with his bright yellow fur were strands of grey. This wasn't the Pikachu Ash had remembered, and he couldn't help but feel sad knowing this.

"No. They just started," Adam reported, quickly focusing his eyes back on the battle.

Pulling his eyes away from Pikachu, Ash took a second to get a look at the boy Grayson was talking to. He had brownish-red hair like Charlie, really blue eyes, and to Ash he looked no older than seven at the most. And while he could really only see the side of his face, Ash had a rather eerie feeling that the little boy looked like someone he knew.

Glancing down at the battlefield, Grayson spotted Charlie on one side of the field, her opponent and his Sealeo on the other. Normally, when Charlie held battles for her class to watch, she would ask him or Laney to be her opponent. Today, however, it appeared she had replaced him with someone else, a decision he couldn't' help but wonder if she had made because of what had happened last night.

If he was being honest, he was actually kind of sad she hadn't asked him to battle her. Even though she hadn't called him that morning, he'd still shown up, thinking maybe she had forgotten because of what she had uncovered the night before. She had a lot on her mind, so Grayson could understand how something like their weekly battles would slip her mind. But, evident by the boy standing on the other end of the field, it was clear that she hadn't forgotten, and that she'd simply found someone else to replace him.

"Who's her opponent?" Grayson asked. Since he'd been running a bit late today, he'd missed the introduction.

"His name's Ben Pali," Adam stated, keeping his eyes glued to the battle. "He's new."

_Obviously. It should be me down there. _

Still, despite Adam's claim that Ben was new, the name sounded familiar to him. Upon closer inspection of the boy, Grayson found himself slowly recognizing Ben. The two weren't friends by any means, but Grayson had seen and talked to Ben a few times to know about him. His family lived in the neighborhood near Grayson's, and Grayson sometimes saw him walking around town alone at night. He'd even seen Ben talk to Charlie a few times, but he never thought they'd been friends, making him curious as to why Charlie was hanging out with Ben.

"Who's he?" Adam asked, flicking his eyes toward Ash.

"This is Joey; he was passing through Viridian, and he wanted to see the training center," Grayson explained.

"Are you a Pokemon trainer?" Adam asked, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

For a second, Ash had to actually stop and think about this. True, he was a Pokemon trainer, but he didn't actually have any Pokemon on him. Adam didn't have to know that, though. "Yep."

"That's so cool!" Adam gushed. "I've got a few years until I get my license, but I can't wait! I'm so excited!"

Knowing how Adam felt from the years he had spent idolizing the trainers on TV, Ash let out a small laugh. Before Ash could say anything, though, Adam had already turned his attention back toward the battle.

"So what do you think the odds of Charlie winning today are?" Grayson suddenly asked. To Ash, though, it sounded like Grayson already knew the answer and was just asking Adam for fun. Tilting his body sideways a bit, Grayson made a move to involve Joey into their conversation. "He chose a water and ice type, so he can attack both of Charizard's weaknesses."

"C'mon Grayson," Adam scoffed, daring not to take his eyes off the battle. "Charizard's her starter Pokemon. They've been together even longer than her and Pikachu, and he's one of her strongest Pokemon. Ben doesn't even have a chance."

_She picked a Charmander as her starter?_ "Charlie picked a Charmander?" Ash asked, suddenly curious. He would have thought she would end up taking after Ruby and picked Bulbasaur. "Why?"

"Yeah," Grayson replied. "And it was because when she was little, her dad always used to call her his Little Charizard." Even though it sounded weird for him to be referring to Ash as if he wasn't there, around everyone else he had to pretend Ash was Joey, the Pokemon trainer passing through town.

"It's also a powerful Pokemon and convenient for travel," Adam added.

"That, too."

Hearing the reason why his daughter had picked a Charizard, Ash smiled as a warm and nostalgic feeling coursed through him. How could he ever forget the nickname had given her? At first he had said it jokingly when she had once again been ignoring him.

"_You're like a human version of my Charizard, except smaller," he had told Charlie, recalling his Charizard, who used to ignore him and do whatever it wanted. "It appears as if I have myself a Little Charizard." _

After that, the name had stuck and whenever Charlie would get in trouble for not listening to him, she would remind him that she was his Little Charizard.

"Sealeo, dodge it and use Water Pulse!" Ben called after Charlie had ordered her Charizard to try yet another Flamethrower.

"Charizard, up in the air!" Following Charlie's instructions, Charizard altered its direction of flight upward, avoiding the Water Pulse with ease. "Good job! Now let's try a Fire Spin!"

"Sealeo, move!" Ben yelled, knowing if the Fire Spin hit, it could be pretty bad. Although Sealeo was able to move out of the way enough to avoid the majority of the attack, it still wasn't fast enough.

Growling in frustration, Ben racked his brain for a new strategy. Charlie's Charizard was fast, and since there wasn't ice or water, Sealeo was at a slight disadvantage when it came to speed. _If only I could…That's it!_ "Sealeo, use Ice Beam, but aim it at the ground!"

With the help of Sealeo's Ice Beam, the battlefield was turned into one giant skating rink. Although Ben knew there was a chance Charlie's Charizard could melt away the ice, for now it would give Sealeo the boost in speed it so desperately needed right now.

"Uh oh," Grayson commented. "This could be bad."

"Don't worry," Adam replied, confident that his big sister would overcome the obstacle Ben had posed. "Charlie will find a way."

"Charizard, try a flamethrower!" Charlie called out.

"Dodge it and use Aurora Beam!" This time, when Ben ordered Sealeo to dodge the attack, it easily avoided the attack by sliding across the ice on its belly. And when it shot off an Aurora Beam, it actually hit.

Despite what Ben would have hoped, Charlie didn't look frustrated or angry that her Charizard had been successfully hit. Instead, she looked completely calm-too calm if you asked him. Clearly, she had something up her sleeve, and he was worried.

"Charizard, use Earthquake."

From where it was hovering above the field, Charizard flew higher, only to come crashing down on the ground with a tremendous force behind it. When it hit, a giant crack traveled down the middle of the battlefield, breaking it into two. With the field now in two parts, the sheet of ice Ben had Sealeo create was cut off in the middle. While this had been effective in limiting Sealeo's mobility, Ben had a feeling this wasn't Charlie's full plan.

"Sealeo, try another Water Pulse." Despite Sealeo's efforts, though, Charlie's Charizard easily avoided the attack once again, only to send another Flamethrower back Ben and Sealeo's way. Luckily, there was still some room for Sealeo to move, but Ben knew he needed a new strategy and fast. No matter how hard he tried, Charlie's Charizard was able to avoid the majority of Sealeo's attacks by flying through the air. If he could get Charizard stuck on the ground, though, it would give Sealeo a better chance. "Try a Ice Beam, but aim for Charizard's wing!"

Aiming for Charizard's wings, Sealeo shot off an Ice Beam, hitting the top of the wing and freezing part of it. As Ben had hoped, this significantly increased the difficulty of flying for Charizard, forcing it to fly lower to the ground. Just like before, though, Charlie didn't look concerned at all. Instead, she smiled as if he had done exactly what she wanted him to.

"Charizard, use Fire Spin, but aim it toward the ceiling," Charlie commanded. When Charizard shot a Fire Spin into the space above it, it formed a giant, fire, tornado that started to move a bit.

"Oooo," came the collective response of the group. Not only did Charlie's Charizard have strong attacks, but also thanks to the contest training she had done with it, its attacks had an artistic form to them. Even Ash seemed to notice this, as it left him wondering where Charlie had learned contest-battling strategies.

"Good, now fly by the Fire Spin, but not too close!" With as much strength as it could muster, Charizard flew close enough to the tornado of fire so that it could melt the ice off of its wing without injuring it too much. Free from the ice, Charizard flew up high again, leaving its trainer with a victorious smile. After a few seconds, the fire spin started to die out, no longer backed by a constant stream of fire. "Nice work, Charizard!"

"Alright Sealeo, try another Water Pulse."

Thanks to the ice, the ball of water went flying across the field, only stopping when it slammed against the wall. When it hit, though, the water exploded and shot up into the air, hitting Charizard. Although it had come a little to late, this was the hit he had been waiting for since the start of the battle. Charizard wasn't out for the count yet, but it had definitely been weakened.

"Charizard, keep trying Flamethrower!" Although Sealeo didn't have the full space to move, it still had some ice to slide around on. Flopping on its belly, Sealeo flew forward, leaping left and right to try and avoid Charizard's onslaught of Flamethrowers. And with Sealeo trying to doge out of the way, there was no time left for it to try and attack. "One more time, Charizard!"

Too busy trying to avoid getting hit, Sealeo lost focus on where it was going and what was in front of it. And as Charizard let out its final Flamethrower, in an attempt to avoid the attack, Sealeo went sliding right into the giant crack Charizard's Earthquake had created earlier. Trapped and without its increase in speed or an easy way out, Sealeo became an easy target. And in this moment, Ben truly understood just why Charlie had done so well in all those leagues, and why she was a ranked trainer throughout the regions. Not even since the start of the match did he have a chance at beating her.

"This match is in the bag," Adam reported, filling his role as the commentator for Charlie's match.

"You sure?" Grayson teased him, even though he knew that Charlie was going to come out the winner.

Turning toward Grayson, Adam gave him a look that seemed to question his intelligence about Pokemon Battling. "Of course! Sealeo's trapped, allowing it to be an easy target. There's not much Ben can do to get out of this."

"That's a pretty good strategy," Grayson replied.

"Duh! Charlie's quick on her toes and inventive like her dad, but she's also strategic like Ruby. Or at least, that's what my dad always says."

Despite his age, if there was one thing Adam knew a whole lot about it, was Pokemon and Battling. Growing up in a family where his mom was a member of the Elite Four, and his dad was a Pokemon Researcher and a trainer, he had been exposed to Pokemon at very young age. And after years of watching his mom, dad and sister battle, he had learned a lot about strategy and tactics.

Hearing what Adam had said, Ash was only left wondering whom Adam's dad was and how he knew Ruby and himself? Maybe he was one of his friend's kids. He'd have to ask Adam later.

"Come on, Sealeo! You can do it! Try an Ice Beam!"

"Charizard, Seismic Toss!"

Once again dodging the Ice Beam with ease, Charizard flew down and picked Sealeo up and carried it up in the air. Spinning over and over in a circle, Charizard finally stopped, only to switch directions back down toward the field. Flying down at full speed, just before it hit the ground, Charizard flung Sealeo into the ground and leveled itself out again. As Sealeo crashed into the ground, Ben knew then and there that the match was over, and he had lost.

"Good work, Sealeo," Ben complimented his Pokemon as he pulled out its Pokeball and recalled it. "You tried your best, and that's all I can ask for."

With the battle over and Charlie crowned the victor, her crowd of admirers started jumping up and down, clapping and shouting as they congratulated her on her win and the awesome battle she had put on for them.

Adam and Grayson were no exception, the two of them cheering the loudest. Even Ash applauded Charlie on the victory she had obtained. She'd proven herself to be a pretty tough trainer, and Ash couldn't help but be impressed. Not only had she overcome a pretty heavy type advantage, but she'd also maneuvered Charizard out of danger without losing her cool. She hadn't even looked concerned when part of Charizard's wing had been frozen. And to an opposing trainer, Charlie's cool and collected manner could make them second-guess their strategy, thinking that they had done something she was expecting. It would then be them who lost their cool. It was oddly similar to the way Gary and Paul acted during a battle. At the same time, though, he could see how, just like him, she put her heart into the battle. Just thinking about it had Ash's passion for battling to burning brightly in him once again.

He had to battle her.

Turning toward Charlie, Ben watched as she celebrated with her Charizard, giving it a big hug as she jumped up and down. He knew it didn't really mater much, but he liked how she actually looked happy to win and not like she had been expecting to beat him.

After recalling her Charizard, Charlie made her way back over to Ben. "Nice work, Charlie. You're…well, you're pretty amazing."

"Thanks," she replied rather sheepishly, a small blush forming on her cheeks. For someone who talked a big game before the match, she sure backed down afterwards "But you did really well, too. Using Sealeo's Ice Beam to make it easier to dodge attacks? That was a really good strategy."

Smart strategy or not, she had easily found a way to use it to her advantage, which, in Ben's opinion, was much better. "Charlie," he laughed, shaking his head a bit, "you creamed me. You're just better than me. There's a reason you've done so well in leagues."

Once again, she blushed in embarrassment. Ben figured it was because she didn't really know how to take compliments very well. "I guess," she shrugged, scuffing the ground with her edge of her shoe. "But I've had a lot of help, too."

"Help or no help, you're an amazing trainer, Charlie," he told her once more.

He wasn't exaggerating either or just trying to butter her up. Like he had told her, there was a reason she had done so well in the leagues. And even if she had gotten advice from other people, it wasn't a bad thing. If anything, it probably helped her to be taught different techniques by different trainers. After all, despite what one might think, Pokemon Training wasn't something one went about on their own; if they wanted to do well and improve, they had to learn from others. Plus, not only was it clear that she had spent hours training and perfecting techniques, but it was also clear that she had worked hard to develop that special bond with her Pokemon one needed to do so well.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Grayson commented.

Adam just shrugged, not really caring what his sister was saying. "She's probably just telling him good job and stuff."

"Maybe you're right."

"You know, for her boyfriend, you don't seem to know much about her," Adam stated, giving Grayson an incredulous look.

"Wait, you're her boyfriend?" _Charlie has a boyfriend? _Ash knew Grayson and Charlie had always been good friends, but apparently in wherever he had ended up, they were dating. _Interesting how he neglected to mention that last night…_He wasn't so sure if he was exactly thrilled with that. Sure, he had always liked Grayson, but Charlie was his daughter, and, well, he was also a teenage boy. And knowing how he had handled things at that age, he was a bit weary.

"What? I'm not her boyfriend…"

_So Grayson's not her boyfriend?_

"Oh." Quietly turning away from his sister's friend, Adam scrunched his face, confused. He'd always heard people talk about his sister and Grayson like they were dating. Were they wrong? Or was Grayson just pretending? Maybe he had used the word incorrectly. "Well, that's what people tell me. But Laney always says how Charlie just needs to wait until you realize how stupid you're being. So, who knows?"

_Who's Laney? Ugh, I'm so confused. _

With that said, Adam stood up and hopped down the bleachers so he could go congratulate his sister. Grayson on the other hand, was left speechless and bewildered by what Adam had said. He quickly snapped out of it, though, following after Adam. And seeing as everyone was clearing the bleachers, Ash figured he might as well follow.

Rushing across the field, Adam ran up to his sister, pushing his way through the other kids to get close. "That was an awesome battle!" Adam raged, throwing his hands up in the air to show just how enthusiastic he was. "The way you used Charizard's Fire Spin and then the Earthquake!"

"Adam?" Surprised to see her brother standing in front of her, she cocked an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in your own class right now?"

"Yeah…" he replied, looking down at this shoes. "But I wanted to come watch!" he suddenly cried, getting all upset that his sister was chastising him. "Besides, that class is boring. You don't even get to battle! Or watch battles!"

"Still, Ruby and Gary are going to be worried when you aren't in class," Charlie tried to convince her brother. Often times he forgot that, although he might think he was fine, there were people who would start to panic if he went missing. "Now that you've watched the battle, you should at least go back to class. Besides, I have some things I need to do today, so I can't watch you."

"But you were gone all day yesterday!" Adam whined, unhappy that his sister wouldn't be around for him to hang out with so he could avoid his class. Plus, whenever he got to hang out with his sister, she always let him play with her Pokemon.

"No wonder you weren't home when I stopped by," Charlie heard another voice state. Glancing up, she saw Grayson walking toward her, Joey not too far behind him. With the events of the previous night still fresh in her head, he was the last person Charlie wanted to talk to, let alone see. "Where were you?"

"She was in Pallet Town," Adam answered for his sister.

"Adam!" Charlie yelled, angry that her brother had revealed where she was.

"Charlie, I'm so sorry!" Grayson apologized, understanding what Charlie had been really been doing the second Adam mentioned Pallet Town, and he felt terrible.

He could he forget such an important date? He'd even been telling Ash all about it last night, and not once had he connected the dots. No wonder she was already short with him when he finally talked to her. She probably thought he had forgotten. Then again, he had. Still, he felt terrible about not calling her to see how she was doing, or even going to Pallet Town himself with her.

Finally catching up to the group, Ash stopped to get his first, close up look at Charlie. It took every fiber of his strength to keep himself from running up to her and embracing her in a bone-crushing hug. She looked so different to him, yet she looked the same. No longer did she look like a little kid with her chubby cheeks and toothy grin with a tooth or two missing. And while she had always looked a bit like him as a kid, now that she was older, she looked even more like him. She still had Ruby's hair color, but her eyes were the same dark brown as his, and her face resembled a girl version of him. And with Pikachu now perched on her shoulder, it only added to her striking similarity to him. The only thing missing was the little zigzag marks under his eyes. Her choice of clothing and the locket around her neck still showed her girly side, but her choice of Pokemon showed she battled to win. If you asked him, she had grown up pretty well.

Ignoring Grayson's apologizes, Charlie turned back to Adam and her class, all of whom looked engrossed in the drama starting to unfold. "Alright, everyone. That's good work for today! We can discuss the battle next week, so class dismissed!" Understanding that this was their teacher's cue to them that they should leave, the students in Charlie's class rushed to grab their backpacks, waving goodbye to her as they walked out the door. Despite the fact the rest of Charlie's class had left, Adam remained, still refusing to give up on getting Charlie to let him hang out with her for the day. "Adam, I'm sorry, I can't hang out with you today. You need to go back to class. I promise we can hang out another day, though."

"C'mon, Charlie. Please! I don't want to go back to class. It's_ so_ boring. "

"Adam," Charlie sighed. "You gotta go back."

"That was an awesome battle!" Ash suddenly piped in. Before Charlie left, he really wanted to talk to her. "Your Charizard's so strong. Not as strong as mine, though, I bet." Hearing this, Grayson shot Ash a pleading look. He as going to blow everything! "I mean, if I had a Charizard that is," he laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Because I don't. Have a Charizard that is."

"Who are you?" Charlie asked, cocking her head to the side as she inspected him a bit closer.

"My name's Joey," Ash introduced himself. "I'm was passing through Viridian City when I ran into your friend Grayson. He told me about the battle you were going to have, so he brought me hear to watch."

"Oh."

"Yeah. When he told me I was going to get to watch Charlie Ketchum battle, I couldn't pass an opportunity like that!" Ash raved, acting as if he was Charlie's biggest fan. "I understand now why you won all those leagues. You're awesome!"

"Thanks."

"I'd love to battle you before I leave."

Taking a moment to think it over, Charlie tried to decide if she would have time to battle. Saving her dad was her top priority, but if there was one motto she lived by, it was never pass up an opportunity to battle-that was if her Pokemon were in a condition to fight. She would never risk their health. No matter what, every battle was a learning experience to her, and battling people she'd never met before only gave her an even better learning experience.

"Sure. Meet me here tomorrow morning, and I'll battle you," Charlie finally agreed.

"Can I come watch?" Adam asked, eager to watch another battle.

"If you want."

"Yes!" Adam cheered, pumping his fist into the air. "I'll bring my dad, too!'

"Well, I've really got to go, but it was nice meeting you, Joey," Charlie said. While normally she would stay and get to know the new trainers, she didn't have time for that today. The locket was her main focus. "Grayson, would you mind taking Adam back to class for me?"

"Fine," he grumbled, lowering his shoulders. Clearly, Charlie did not want him around, and he wasn't about to push her to the edge. "Come on guys." Grabbing the boy's hand, Grayson led the way with Joey close behind.

"See you tomorrow, Charlie!" Ash called, waving goodbye his daughter. "I'll be sure to win!"

OOOO

It had been pretty much complete silence since Ben and Charlie had decided to leave the training center and head to the Pokemon Center so Ben could heal up his Pokemon. Unnerved by the silence and the way Charlie looked like she was ready to exploded, Ben decided to try and strike up a conversation with her.

"You should try for the title of Pokemon Master. I bet you could make it. You'd be the first girl, too."

"I can't," she told him, her voice getting really quiet and her eyes aimed toward the ground.

"What? Of course you can, Charlie. I don't know why you don't see it, but you're _really_ good. With some extra training, I'm sure-"

"No!" she shouted, startling Ben. Stopping where she was, she took a deep breath to try and calm down. "That's not it."

"Then what is?" he asked her, not understanding why someone of her skill would turn down a shot at such a prestigious title. "Did Grayson say something to you? If he did, Charlie, I don't care what he said, whatever it is, it's not true."

"Grayson didn't say anything," she stated, narrowing her eyes at Ben. Despite their argument yesterday, not once had Grayson ever told her she was a bad trainer. If anything, he'd only encouraged her that she could do anything if she put her mind to it. It was him who, whenever she felt like giving up, would remind her how hard she had worked to throw it all away. He'd remind her how the Charlie he knew and loved wouldn't give up like that. "It's my own choice not to try."

"Well, why won't you then?" Ben asked her once more, refusing to back off. He knew it was probably hypocritical, considering he had refused to tell her how he had received the cut on his cheek. But this was different.

"I'm not going to take it away from him, okay?" she shouted back, her voice growing in anger and frustration. Even though she had finally answered him, he was completely lost. "I already took it away from him once. I'm not going to take it away from him again. It's not my dream; it's his."

"Whose?"

"My dad," she clarified. With that said, her anger and frustration died off, but that didn't mean she was completely immune to the emotions she felt whenever her dad and his dream came up. "He wanted to be a Pokemon Master since he was little. It was because of me that he never to achieve his dream. He was so close, too. I know people expect me to follow in his footsteps, but I'm not going to go and take it from him again. It wouldn't be right."

"Charlie, your dad died," Ben reminded her. He felt rather dumb telling her this, though, knowing she of all people could never forget. "It's not your fault he never achieved his dream. It's nobody's fault; it was just bad luck." Actually, if you asked Ben, it was Team Rocket's fault, but he wasn't supposed to know that.

Instead of agreeing with him, Charlie furiously shook her head. "You're wrong," she told him. She wasn't necessarily mad at Ben, but she clenched up her fists as she closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. If anything, she blamed herself, and even her mom a little bit. Opening her eyes back up, she still faced the other way, but she started talking. "I know he loved me, and he's told me that he doesn't regret what he did, but he gave up his dream for me. If I were never around, he would have gotten to be a Pokemon Master. When I was three, he was going to try again, but…but something happened and he couldn't go."

"Charlie, I don't understand," Ben told her.

He comprehended what she was saying to him, but he wasn't following how it was her fault her dad's dreams were crushed. Maybe her dad had postponed training when she was born, but Ben didn't think that was her fault. After all, when he was born, his dad didn't quit Team Rocket or give up on being a high-ranking member. He just held off on constantly working until Ben was old enough where his mom didn't always need his dad's help.

"Don't you know that story?" she shouted at him. "It was all over ht news when we were ten." Oddly enough, Ben actually didn't know the story Charlie was talking about. While he did know it had gotten out that Ash Ketchum had a daughter, he had never really followed the story. Like Charlie had said, he was ten years old, and after learning about the person Team Rocket killed had a daughter, he really didn't want to know anymore. In her frustration she kicked a rock on the road, sending it flying into a tree trunk. When Ben shook his had, Charlie just sighed. "I was an accident, and my didn't find out until I was one. My mom called him and told him about me when he was in the middle of some really big tournament that, if he won, would have allowed him to have his shot at becoming a Pokemon Master. When he found out, he left without telling anyone and came to take care of me. Now do you see?"

Slowly nodded, Ben replied with, "I see."

"I wasn't even part of my dad's plan, and then because of me he had to give up on his dream. I ruined everything for him. That's why I can't be the Pokemon Master. I already robbed him of his chance once, and I don't want to again."

While Ben had to disagree with her, he knew better than to push her further than he already had. Despite what she may have thought, he didn't think she ruined everything for her dad at all. If anything, him giving up his dream to be with her was, in a way, kind of heroic. While it wasn't an ideal ending or the one her dad probably would have hoped for, Ben saw Ash's decision as just more proof of how much he loved his daughter. Blowing off the biggest tournament of his life for her? Putting his dreams on hold to be with the daughter he had just learned he had? To Ben, that was the ultimate sacrifice that screamed love. He knew Charlie would never see it that way, though. All she could focus on was the fact that she was the accident in her dad's life that could have been avoided. And while he could never understand what it was like to feel that way, it helped him understand her better.

"So is that why you want to bring your dad back?" he asked her. "So he can have his shot at being a Pokemon Master?"

She slowly nodded her head in reply, reveling the real reason why she wanted her dad back so badly. Not only was it because of her desire to have her dad back in her life, but it was also because she wanted to see him achieve the one thing she had always felt she robbed him of. "That, and I have to heal a broken heart."

"Yours?"

To Ben surprise, she shook her head. "The Tomboy Mermaid." Although Ben knew she had told him the answer, the name she had used sounded like a secret code. With that said, though, the two fell into a silence, unsure of what to say or do next. Charlie had said everything she was willing to say, but Ben still had more questions. Questions about what events had led her to believe she was an accident, who the Tomboy Mermaid was, and why she had made it her duty to heal this person's heart? "Look, we still need to discuss a plan, and if we just stand here, we're never going to make it to the center," she pointed out. "After that, we can grab something to eat and actually start planning."

"Okay."

With that said, Charlie and Ben continued on their way to the center. As Ben followed her, the events of the morning flashed through his brain. He had promised his dad that he would get close to Charlie and learn everything he could about her. He had also agreed that, if he were able to find a way, he would change it so Charlie never met her dad. With what she had just told him, however, he had learned about one such opportunity. Now that he knew this crucial information about how Charlie's dad had found out about her, he already had a perfect opportunity to prevent Ash from ever learning about Charlie's existence. All he had to do was get Charlie to take them back in time to the moment and somehow distract her dad or intercept the call long enough for her mom to move on or start to think Charlie's dad didn't want anything to do with her. He knew he could do it, but when it came to following through, knowing he could practically change Charlie's entire life, that he wasn't so sure about.

Only time would tell.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

* * *

_It's a whole new world we live!  
It's a whole new way to see!  
It's a whole new place!  
With a brand new attitude!_

"Now what?" Ash asked as he, Adam and Grayson exited the training room. He was glad he finally got to see Charlie, but he really wanted to talk to her more and learn more about her. He already knew what the training center looked like, so it was pointless to go on a tour.

"Well, first things first, Adam needs to go back to class," Grayson stated, giving Adam a stern look. Adam, of course, was peeved that Grayson would ruin his fun and make him go back to class. "After that, we'll go get your Pokemon."

"Can I come? I'd love to meet them!" Adam begged, looking for any reason not to return to class. Normally, he didn't particular find going to the Pokemon Center fun, but he'd do anything at this point.

"No, because I have to go to class later, and I don't have time to bring you back here," Grayson lied. Technically, he did have class, but he also had plenty of time to bring Adam back before then.

"Fine," Adam grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest. He understood. He was still a little kid, and now that there was someone around who was Grayson's age, he had no interest in hanging out with his friend's little brother. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Grayson nodded. "Sounds good." With that said, Adam stomped off in the opposite direction, mumbling things about how it wasn't fair he had to go to class, while Grayson and Charlie could do whatever they wanted because they were Pokemon Trainers. Once Adam had disappeared around the corner, Grayson breathed a tiny sigh of relief. Most of the time he didn't mind spending time with him, but today Adam's presence couldn't be more inconvenient. "I thought he'd never leave. Sorry about that."

Ash just laughed. "Who is he? Is he just some kid that comes here and won't leave?"

"You could say that," Grayson nervously replied. The longer he could keep the truth of Adam from Ash, the better. After the way he had reacted to Ruby returning, Grayson could only imagine how Ash would react if he found out Ruby had another kid. Let's just say Grayson didn't see that going so well. "But now that he's gone, let's go get you some Pokemon. If you're going to battle Charlie tomorrow, you're going to need them."

Leading the way, Grayson traveled down the hallway and to a room that held telephones, computers and Pokemon transporters. Meant for trainers to switch out Pokemon without having to go all the way back to the center, it was very convenient for what Grayson hoped to achieve without Charlie noticing. Heading over to one of the computers, Grayson moved the mouse around to wake up the computer. Once the screen was illuminated, he started typing on the keyboard.

"This systems is pretty neat. Instead of having to call the place where your Pokemon are, you can just log into your account and select the Pokemon you want," Grayson explained. "If they aren't outside of their Pokeball, it just automatically sends them once you send back one Pokemon. If they are outside their Pokeball at the time, it sends a message to the person working there so they know you need your Pokemon."

"So you just log into your account?" Ash asked. "And you can get all your Pokemon?"

"Yep," Grayson confirmed. Ash was slightly amazed. This technology wasn't around when he traveled. True, you could transport Pokemon the same way, but back then he always had to call Professor Oak. While it wasn't that inconvenient, when he came across time changes, things got tricky. "But we aren't logging into my account. We're going to log into Charlie's."

"That doesn't seem very right," Ash replied, a bit hesitant. Although he did need Pokemon, it felt wrong to be sneaking into Charlie's account and taking hers. Plus, wouldn't she notice if he battled her with her own Pokemon? "Besides, how do you know her account information anyway?"

"She told me. We do this all the time-borrow each other's Pokemon. Normally, I always ask her first, but she always tells me I don't need to," Grayson stated. Pushing the Log In button, he selected the button that would take him to Charlie's boxes that stored her Pokemon. "Plus, Charlie has access to a shared box with Brock that contains all your Pokemon. Since you gave them to Brock, they are technically his, but he created a box that allows Charlie access so she can use them anytime she wants. If we would have used my account, we wouldn't have access to that."

"I guess that makes sense," Ash shrugged.

"So, what Pokemon of yours do you want? Pick three so I can have some, too. Since you don't have any Pokemon to trade back, they are going to count toward the six I'm allowed to have at one time."

Peering at the screen, Ash saw a giant box that had little pictures of the various Pokemon that could be traded out. And just like Grayson had said, all his Pokemon were there for him to pick from. Well, all of them except the Pokemon like Charizard who weren't at Professor Oak's Lab to begin with. "Where's Buizel? And Totodile?" Ash asked, noticing that they weren't there.

"Oh, Totodile is probably with Charlie," Grayson informed him. "And Buizel…well, when Charlie met Dawn, the letter you wrote to her told her to give Buizel back to Dawn."

_I gave Buizel back to Dawn?_ Ash was slightly confused. Buizel didn't like contests; he liked battles. And with Charlie he could battle, but, for reasons he couldn't figure out, he had told Charlie to give Buizel back to Dawn.

"I don't know which one to pick," Ash admitted as he scanned his eyes across the screen. There were so many to pick from, and he could only have three. "They're all great…"

"I know what we can do," Grayson replied as he clicked the mouse to open another window. Checking different boxes, he pushed a button at the bottom of the screen before standing back to watch. "This will randomize the Pokemon you get. I'll give you three Pokemon, and you can chose to use those, or you can have it keep randomizing until you're happy."

"Okay." Ash watched as the machine shuffled through his Pokemon, trying to come up with a team of three. After a few seconds, it finally stopped, the pictures of three Pokemon flashing on the screen. While Ash recognized his Bayleef and Muk, he didn't recognize the third one. "Look, I know this is the future and everything, but I'm pretty sure I don't have a Plusle."

"Oh, whoops! I didn't know it would do that," Grayson chuckled. "That's Charlie's. It must have accidentally gotten put in this box when she traded it back in. Sometimes that can happen. You can still use her, though, if you want."

"Won't Charlie notice?"

"Yeah, but I got your back. Don't worry," Grayson assured him.

"Well, alright then…" If Grayson was sure this was okay, Ash would go ahead and trust him.

"Just think about it this way," Grayson suggested. "Despite her disagreeing with me at times, Charlie does trust my judgment. She knows I won't go and give her Pokemon to someone who would steal them."

Ash nodded in understanding. It made sense to him. "So what am I supposed to do until tomorrow?" Ash asked. "I kind of already know this town…"

"True," Grayson agreed. Taking a moment, he tried to come up with something that Ash could do. While he knew Ash could just come back to his house later that night, he had to go to class soon, and he'd be gone for most of the day. "You could challenge the Viridian City Gym."

"I could…" Even though he'd already obtained the badge for Viridian City-and even worked there for a while-it wouldn't hurt to tray again for fun. It would give him some practice for his battle with Charlie. Even though he had worked at the training center, he hadn't battled on the same level he had before Charlie was born. Then he actually competed in leagues and tournaments where he had to battle to win. When he opened the Training Center, however, that battling he did there was more to show people different techniques and ways to improve. "Alright, that sounds good. I'll do that."

"Sounds good," Grayson agreed. "Meet me back at my house around 2."

OOOO

Despite what people may have said about her, Charlie wasn't as crazy and stubborn as they said. She didn't try to purposely put herself in danger because she thought it was fun, or because she wanted something so bad, she was willing to risk her life for it. She actually did try to think about the consequences and try to find a way that was the least risky. It's just that, in that moment when she had to make the split decision to act or stand by, she usually didn't stop and think about the consequences. She just acted, knowing time spent thinking about consequences and repercussions was valuable time wasted.

When she did have time to think about her actions, though, she tired to list the pros and cons of what she was doing, in an attempt to come up with the best solution. On the other hand, though, she truly believed that her heart often knew what was best for her, regardless of the fact she might encounter danger. So, when her heart told her to not give up on trying to find a way to bring her dad back, she listened. But at the same time, she was willing to consider other ways to go about this if it meant she could avoid having to take on Team Rocket. Plus, she'd promised Grayson that if things got too dangerous, she could back out. With this in mind, if those other ways didn't' work, she wouldn't hesitate taking on Team Rocket if she had to.

"I was thinking more about the locket last night," she told Ben, striking up the conversation they had planned on having since hey first met up this morning.

In all honesty, though, what she had told Ben was an understatement. She had been up to practically the wee hours of the morning trying to think of ways she could prevent her dad's death. There was the most obvious way of traveling to the day he died and saving him, but as she thought more about it, she realized that were other avenues she could take.

"I can't say the same," Ben replied, throwing Charlie a frown. "I would have, but I don't really know enough to…you know…"

"It's okay," she assured him, understanding why his brain wasn't swarming with thoughts about the locket like hers had been. After all, all he knew was that her dad was dead, but nothing about him or about his past. Unlike him, Charlie knew things about her dad and his life that provided alternate ways for reversing what happened to him.

"So what were you thinking?"

"I think there's another way I can save my dad."

He stared back at her, a look of confusion on his face. "What do you mean another way? Like not using the locket?"

"Oh, no," she corrected him. If there were another way for her to get her dad back that didn't require the locket, maybe she would consider it. But the locket was all she had, and it was here now. It was the only shot she would ever get at getting her dad back, so she had to use it. "What I meant was, if I can get the locket to take us to a particular point in time, I might be able to change something that could be key in saving him."

"And that would be?" he asked.

Although it wasn't exactly a big secret, what she was about to tell him felt like she was revealing private information. She even felt like, by telling him this, he would judge her and think different of her. Then again, not all of it was a secret, considering what she planned to tell him had already been revealed when she was ten. "When my dad went missing, that was the last time he ever talked to his friends. They didn't know where he was or why he'd gone missing," she explained. "They always said that if they had known where he was, maybe they could have saved him. I don't know if that would have been true, but it's worth a shot to find out. I just need to go back in time to the day he left and make sure his friends eventually go to Viridian City."

Through this plan, Charlie would make sure that Misty and Brock traveled to Viridian so they could uncover the reason her dad had left. Instead of going years without hearing from him and wondering why had had disappeared, they would find out where he ran off to. While this plan seemed like the second best solution, it also would come with some drastic repercussions. For starters, if Misty and Brock uncovered where her dad was within the first week of his disappearance, they would find out about her. And if they knew about her, there would be no reason for her dad to create the scavenger hunt for when she started her journey. Without the scavenger hunt, she would lose all the memories she had, and her journey would be significantly different.

Most importantly, though, if her dad's friends knew about her, Jessie and James would no longer be her parents. Instead, if this change achieved what she hoped it would, she would have continued living with her dad. And if it didn't, she assumed she would have most likely ended up living with her grandmother or one of her dad's friends. She knew these were drastic changes that would practically alter her entire life, but if meant her dad could live…She was willing to make that sacrifice. After all, her dad had made life-changing sacrifices for her, so it was only right she did the same for him.

"You want…to travel to the day your dad…found out about you?" Ben asked Charlie, his voice full of hesitation and worry. His face paled a bit as his eyes got really big. He wasn't even trying, and Charlie was leading him right to the point in time his dad had asked him to look out for.

Why he was suddenly so nervous and fearful, Charlie wasn't quite sure of. The only explanation she could think of was that he must have known something she didn't, but that only left her wondering what Ben would know about her dad that she didn't already know?

"Yes," she stated. She wasn't going to back down no matter how scared he was. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"What? No!" he practically shouted, as he turned all panicky and flustered. Charlie thought it was pretty obvious that he was lying, and that there was clearly more as to why he had suddenly freaked out. "It's just, um…wouldn't it be easier for you to just travel to the day he died and prevent him from traveling through the cave?" With this question, the tables were turned, and it wasn't Ben who cringed in fear, but Charlie. Like everyone else in the world, Ben had been told that Charlie's dad had passed away after being trapped in a hole when there was a cave in. If this had been true, it would obviously be a lot easier than what she might have to do. "I mean, all we would have to do is prevent him from going there. It really wouldn't be that hard."

"No we cant," Charlie told him. "My dad can't see us."

"But didn't he see you the first time you traveled through time?" Ben shot back, reflecting a similar expression to the one Charlie had just given him. The only thing about this, though, was that Charlie didn't have crucial information Ben had that would allow her to back him into a corner like he had just done to her. Plus, as she had learned over the years, while she might good at battling with Pokemon and using strategies to win those kind of battles, she wasn't that great at debates or winning arguments. Despite her lack of skills, she wouldn't be her dad's daughter if she didn't refuse to admit defeat, no matter how obvious it was she had lost the argument. "You said you talked to him, too, right?"

"That's different," she replied, using her classic line to explain her reasons behind doing the things she did. Just like her dad, she had her own classic line that she would resort to every time she was in an argument with someone. While his had usually been 'Did not/Did too' or some insult about Misty's looks or personality, hers tended to be 'that's different' or 'you don't understand.' While she knew it would just be easier to explain that she couldn't use Ben's suggestion because that wasn't the way her dad had died, she would rather lie than tell him the truth. "He didn't know about me then. If I showed up and he noticed that I looked just like his daughter, he might get suspicious."

"Disguise yourself?" he suggested, finding a loophole in her lie.

If things were a little different, Ben wouldn't be pushing Charlie so hard to try and save her dad by preventing him from traveling through the cave. He was just trying to get her to admit to him how her dad had actually died so he didn't have to go along pretending he didn't know the truth and worrying about slipping up and giving his true identity away.

As Charlie scrambled her brain for some excuse as to why she couldn't do that, she found herself really wishing it were Grayson in front of her instead of Ben. With Grayson, she wouldn't have to explain why her and Ben couldn't just prevent her dad from traveling through the cave. She wouldn't have to explain why she wanted to do things this way or that way, because Grayson would just know. He would already know all the blanks that she had to fill in for Ben. She wouldn't have to lie either. Basically, Grayson-and Laney for that matter-would understand her in ways Ben never could. But Laney was gone, and Grayson had said no. And instead of a simple, no, it had been a mean and cruel, he didn't _want_ to help her. Instead, he'd rather sit around with Morgan, a girl who didn't know the difference between a Pidgey and a Spearow.

"Charlie?" Ben called her name, pulling her back to reality.

"Huh?"

"Did you hear anything I just said?" he asked her, but it was pretty clear what the answer was based on her blank stare. Sighing, he kindly repeated what he had said to her, giving up on trying to get the truth out of her. In the end, it was probably better he didn't start his relationship with Charlie by arguing with her. "Look, if you want to try saving your dad the other way, and if you think it'll work, I'm willing to try," he said, flashing her a reassuring smile.

"Really?" Charlie replied, sighing in relief that he hadn't continued to fight her.

"Yeah."

"Thanks," she offered, a relieved smile on her face. "And now that we have a plan, how about we actually eat our lunch?" Charlie suggested, gesturing to the uneaten food in front of them. If anything, this only indicated how important this mission was to her, because, for once in her life, she had managed to ignore food that was sitting right in front of her. "After that, we'll grab our Pokemon from the center."

OOOO

"So where are we going?" Ben asked Charlie once they had left the Pokemon Center and headed down the street. "I mean, I know you told me, but you never really said where he was when he found out about you."

Walking beside her, he couldn't help but notice how different she looked compared to when they were at the restaurant and Pikachu wasn't with her. Then, it had felt like something was missing about her, but now that Pikachu was sitting on her shoulder, things seemed right to Ben.  
"Do you have any patience?" Charlie teased him, happy it wasn't her being called impatient for once.

"No," he shot back, a goofy grin on his face. Charlie couldn't help but stifle a laugh because the smile made him appear kid like, but in a way she oddly found slightly attractive. It kind of reminded her of her dad, too. "Plus, I want to learn more about you."

"Learn more about me?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "If I'm supposed to be helping you, I should probably know more about you, and traveling to different parts in your life or your dad's life is the perfect way for me to learn."

Charlie really hadn't thought about the locket that way, considering she already knew things about the places they might end up. For someone who didn't know much about her, though, this could be an eye-opener as far as learning about her life. They could see things and hear things in the different points in time that could reveal something about her or her family and friends. In a way, this locket was like a visual diary that you could use to learn anything about anyone. After all, she had asked it to reveal something about Misty that not even her dad or Brock had known. So who's to say Ben couldn't use it in the same way to learn things about her?

"Well, we're eventually going to end up in Celadon City," she explained, this being the place her dad was at when he received the phone call from her mom about her existence. "But first, I want to walk to the edge of the Viridian Forest. Hopefully there we won't attract any unwanted attention."

As the two of them walked in silence, Charlie couldn't help but sneak a few glances at Ben to see if there was anything about him she should be suspicious of. She didn't know why, but the easiness she had felt in trusting him before was slowly starting to fade away. It wasn't that she thought he was untrustworthy-at least not yet. It was just that her sudden suspicions were more based on the fact that he knew so little about her. Most people wouldn't be worried about a person they barely knew knowing so little about them, but she was slightly different than the average person.

Since she was ten, her story and her accomplishments had been broadcasted around the world. Thanks to the media, not only did the people in Kanto know who she was and who's daughter she was, but so did the people in other regions. While she could understand Ben not knowing much about her because he had moved to Viridian after this had all gotten out, her story wasn't known just among those of Kanto. So for him to not know anything about her except her name and that her dad had died, it was slightly odd. Plus, as egocentric as it might seem, he was one of the first guys she had met besides Grayson who hadn't already asked her out on a date. She didn't necessarily want all these requests for dates, but she was famous, so it was kind of…expected?

"We're here," Ben announced, as they crossed the line that marked the border between the forest and Viridian City.

Looking up, she spotted an old and faded sign that read _Viridian Forest: Rt. 2-Pewter City._ Sure enough, according to the sign, they were on the edge of the Viridian Forest. Just to be sure, though, she led the way as they ventured past the borderline and into an area surround by tall trees and grass. As she scanned the area for any Bug Catchers, or people pretending to be trees, she found herself remembering the warnings her dad had always given to her about going into the forest without an adult. According to him, not only were there a lot of strange people in the forest who sat around waiting for new trainers to pass through, but there were also a lot of dangerous Bug Pokemon that did not appreciate being bothered. While this obviously didn't faze her now, she could never forget his warnings.

"You know there's a lot of Bug Pokemon in here, right?" she asked Ben just to see how he reacted. Typically, most people weren't really bothered by Bug Pokemon, but there were those people like Misty who feared them more than anything in the world.

"I know. Why? Are you scared?" he asked her, thinking that she was trying to hint at her own fear of bugs. Shooting her a coy smile, he added, "Because if you are, I can always protect you."

"No," she scoffed, almost offended at the mere thought of her being afraid of Bug Pokemon. After all, her mom was a Grass/Bug trainer. Bug Pokemon were something she couldn't be afraid of. "I was just worried about you. Caterpies can be pretty frightening."

"Especially when they're destroying towns," Ben added, letting out a small laugh. When Charlie gave him a puzzled look, he just shook his head and laughed some more. "Never mind."

"Well that's good you're not afraid of bugs," she remarked, sitting down on an empty rock nearby. Hopping off her shoulder, Pikachu curled up on the rock next to her. "I wouldn't want to have to console you when you burst into tears."

"Good to know you'd be there for me," Ben replied, sarcasm evident in his voice. It wasn't a mean sarcasm, though. It was more of the friendly, kidding around, going along with the joke kind. "But, while we're on the topic, are you afraid of any types of Pokemon? You know, so I can make sure to always have them when you're around?"

Biting her lip, Charlie debated weather or not she should answer the question. It wasn't that hard of a question to answer, and it wasn't like she was the only one afraid of some type of Pokemon.

Misty hated Bug Pokemon, Ruby feared Bird Pokemon (Apparently this had been quite an issue when her dad and Ruby lived together, considering her dad had quite the amount of Bird Pokemon) and Iris was terrified of Ice Pokemon. At one point, May had been afraid of Pokemon in general, and Charlie knew her friend Grayson to be afraid of Ghost Pokemon (In fact, he'd bypassed Lavender Town completely when traveling through Kanto) and Laney terrified of Beedrill. Just like everyone had their favorite Pokemon, there were the ones they were terrified of.

Nevertheless, it was still kind of embarrassing to admit to someone, especially if the Pokemon she was afraid of happened to be the favorite Pokemon of the person she was telling this to.

"Bat Pokemon," she finally admitted, although her face instantly turned red in embarrassment. While some Pokemon people were afraid of could be easily avoided, Bat Pokemon were not so easily avoided-especially when traveling through caves. To make matters worse, there happened to be people in her family that had this type of Pokemon. "Zubats, Golbats, Crobats…You name it, I can't stand it."

"You know, I happen to have a Golbat myself…" Ben trailed on, a devilish grin on his face. He wouldn't actually call upon his Golbat just to scare Charlie, but he couldn't help but enjoy seeing her squirm a bit. "She's really friendly, and she really enjoys meeting new people."

Leaping off the rock she was sitting on previously, Charlie ran toward Ben and grabbed both his arms in order to prevent him from releasing his Golbat. "Don't you dare!" she snarled in his face. She wasn't thrilled in the very least that he had even threatened her with releasing his Golbat.

Alarmed by Charlie's sudden reaction, Pikachu ran to her side, prepared to attack if he had to protect her.

Seeing the anger and threatening look in her eyes, Ben gulped in fear, regretting even mentioning his Golbat. He'd seen her get angry before, but this was a different kind of angry. This was anger that stemmed from her fear of him actually releasing his Golbat. Letting out the puff of air he had sucked in when she first approached him, he tried to calm himself down and return to his normal breathing pace.

When he did, he found his thoughts drifting away from how she looked like she was going to kill him to how close their faces were. Noticing this, he felt his face start to burn up and his palms and his heart rate start to speed up. _So much for calming it down…_Knowing his only way out of this embarrassing moment was to turn the tables on her, he broke out into a big grin.

"You know… if you wanted to hook up, you didn't have to trick me into going into the forest alone with you," he told her as he flashed her the sweetest smile he could muster. "You could have just asked." As what he said processed in her brain, the look on Charlie's face was priceless, and Ben couldn't help but crack up. Instantly, her face flushed a bright red, and her hands flew off his arms as if she was touching a hot stovetop. "I'm just kidding," he laughed at her, loving the way his comment had gotten the exact reaction he wanted from her. She was so flustered, and she looked as if she'd completely forgotten about his Golbat. "But if you really want to…"

"No!" she shouted, and for good measure, she shoved him full force. Not expecting her to shove him, Ben was thrown off balance as he lost his footing and fell to the ground. _I guess I deserved that._ Looking up, he cringed a bit when he saw her standing tall in front of him, a peeved look on her face. "And keep your Golbat away from me!"

"C'mon Pikachu!" Crackling his cheeks to show Ben what he was capable of, Pikachu raced after Charlie. Stomping off in anger, Charlie wandered some more through the woods, not caring if Ben was behind her. After that little stunt, he could sit there and get attacked by Bug Pokemon for all she cared.

"Hey!" Ben called as he watched Charlie and Pikachu walk off without him. "Don't' leave me behind!" Scampering to get up, he ran after her, not wanting to get left behind. Despite his attempts to get her attention, however, she just ignored him, pretending like he wasn't there. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? It was stupid for me to do that. If it makes you feel better, I'm afraid of snakes!"

"Snakes?" she repeated, this successfully grabbing her attention and causing her to finally acknowledge his presence. Ben nodded in confirmation. Considering his family's involvement with Team Rocket, Ben knew this wasn't the most convenient Pokemon to be afraid of, considering most people in Team Rocket had some type of Snake Pokemon. Then again, neither were Bat Pokemon. "Well let's hope you don't ever join Team Rocket."

"Ha ha…yeah," Ben chuckled nervously, wringing his hands as he cursed himself for reacting this way. _If she only knew the truth_. Running after her so he wasn't left behind again, Ben started to wonder where she was taking them. He'd thought where they ended up was where she wanted to go, but it appeared as if she wanted to go even deeper into the forest.

Coming to an abrupt halt, Pikachu twitched his ears in concern. "PiPi-Kachu?"

"No, Pikachu. Team Rocket's not nearby," she consoled the Pokemon. "I was just saying since Ben's afraid of snakes, it probably wouldn't be a good idea if he joined Team Rocket. They always have Ekans and Arboks." Turning to face Ben, Charlie scooped up Pikachu and held him gingerly in her arms. "Ever since my dad started his journey, Team Rocket chased after him, trying to steal his Pikachu. They haven't tried for years now, but Pikachu still gets a bit concerned whenever someone mentions the name."

_So this is the Pikachu Jessie and James spent forever trying to catch? _Ben had heard stories from his dad about the two members of Team Rocket who had spent most of their career trying to catch a boy's Pikachu. Eventually, he had learned that the boy was Ash Ketchum, but Ben had always assumed that Pikachu-who Jessie and James, ironically, had set free-had ended up back in the wild or with someone else. He'd always just thought the Pikachu Charlie had was her own and not her dad's. He figured it made sense though that Pikachu had ended up with Charlie.

"Oh, okay," he replied, deciding not to say or ask anything further about Pikachu and Team Rocket.

Turning back around, Charlie once again led the way as her and Ben wandered deeper into the forest. Once they got far enough where Charlie didn't think anyone would find them, she finally stopped, pulling out the locket.

As much as it made her want to vomit in doing this, she grabbed Ben's hand, just in case they needed to be 'attached' in order to travel through time together. "Don't you dare say anything," she snapped at him, not in the mood to hear his comments about how she was just doing this so she could hold his hand. Turning her thoughts back to the locket, she clamped it tightly in her hand. "Take us to the day my dad left Misty and Brock."

OOOO

According to the clock, Ash had about four hours to kill before Grayson would be expecting him back at his house. And since four hours was a long time, he'd have plenty of time left over after he battled the Viridian Gym. But at the same time, he wasn't really sure if he even wanted to do that. What would he do with the badge anyway? He didn't know how he had ended up here, so who knew when he would magically disappear.

With the training center behind him, Ash headed into town, deciding he would do a little walking down memory lane. He could visit the apartment complex where he used to live and see how it had changed, and maybe he'd even pass by Charlie's old daycare, just to relish in what was truly just yesterday for him.

Sticking his hands into his pockets, Ash let his head slump down as he continued to walk. It was weird for him to think that, in this future world, he no longer existed because he had died. That his friends and family were now living their lives without him there, and that he was merely just a memory to them. And while it was hard for him to see Charlie and not be able to tell her who he was, it was even harder for him to see Pikachu. Don't get him wrong, he loved Charlie more than anything in the world, but Pikachu was so important to him. Plus, he could only imagine how hard it was for Pikachu knowing that he, his trainer, was no longer alive. That they would never battle side by side again, and that, unlike they had thought, Pikachu had ended up outliving him.

Nearing the apartment complex, Ash headed up the walkway and over to the area where he and Charlie had once lived together. While the buildings had been pretty new when he had lived in them, it was pretty clear that time had taken its toll on the buildings. They were still nice, but they were a bit worn, and parts of the buildings were covered in vines, weeds, and other plants. Walking over, he came to a stop at the bottom of the steps that led to the front door of his apartment.

It still looked the same from the outside with its ugly green door with a faulty lock, but he knew it would be different in the inside. Since he was no longer around, and Charlie was now living with Jessie and James, he knew someone else would be living in the apartment. He wondered what the people were like, and if, like him and Charlie, they weren't the typical family. Was there another kid living in Charlie's room? Was the current family neater than him? Ash knew these were probably pointless questions to be asking, but for some reason they really mattered to him. They reminded him of just how much things had changed in the future-how things had simply gone on without him.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Ash bent down to lift up the doormat, trying to see if the owners left their extra set of keys under there like he always had. And to his surprise, he did find an extra pair of keys underneath. Picking them up, he twisted them around his fingers, debating if he should break the law for his own curiosity. Glancing around him to see if anyone was around to notice him, Ash took a deep breath before placing the keys in the lock and turning it. Despite the fact that he was breaking a major law, he didn't feel that nervous. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he twisted it and pushed the door open.

Sneaking inside, he shut the door behind him before kicking off his shoes, a habit he'd gained when he'd lived there. At first glance, everything appeared to be the same, and it looked like nobody was living there. He spotted furniture inside the apartment, but everything else looked bare and untouched. If someone was living here, wouldn't their stuff be scattered around the apartment?

Moving away from the door, Ash headed to his old room. Once inside, he was confused to see his old comforter on his bed. It even looked like someone had been there only hours ago. His closet door was open as well, as if someone had been going through it. What caught his eye, however, was what he saw on the floor, only a few feet away. Bending down, he picked up the pink and yellow handkerchief, letting his thumb run across the fabric.

_Misty_, he smiled to himself.

If there was one person Ash had missed the most, it was Misty. She'd been the first person he'd met when he started out, and no matter where she was, she'd always been there for him thick and thin. When they had departed ways in Johto, she'd given him the handkerchief, and as he thought about it now, he regretted giving her something in return. He assumed she might still be at the Cerulean City Gym, but he wondered what else was going on in her life. She was probably married, and maybe she even had a family of her own, something Ash found strange to think about. Just like it was probably weird for her to imagine he had a kid, he found it strange if he knew she now had kids of her own. He wondered if they drove her crazy, or if they had her same fiery personality.

Deciding he'd keep the handkerchief for later, he stuffed it in his pocket. Seeing as there wasn't much left to look out in his old room, he headed out the door and over to Charlie's room. And when he entered her room, his heart felt heavy as he glanced around her room. Just like his, it was pretty much bare, not even single sign that someone had lived there at one point. All he saw was an empty bed; not even the rocking chair was there.

Walking over, Ash sat down on the empty bed and rested his head in his hands. So much had changed. There were so many memories in this place, but the emptiness of the room made it look like those memories didn't even exist. And while those memories were great to think about, this place held another meaning for Ash. To him, it had been his safe house; his way to avoid his friends and family when he'd left to take care of Charlie. This place marked an important turning point in his life, but it also reminded him of everything he'd done wrong. From the moment he stepped into the apartment, he'd been making decisions that, as he was now realizing, had not only impacted his life, but Charlie's as well. But the extent of how much those decisions had affected Charlie still remained unknown. He had a feeling through Grayson and Charlie, he'd be able to learn.

OOOO

"Did we make it?" Ben asked, having no idea if this was somewhere outside Celadon City. Most places looked alike to him.

"This isn't right," Charlie muttered as she scanned her eyes across the landscape. "This is just outside of the Viridian Forest."

"Are you sure?" Ben asked.

"I'm positive." Even in the past, the outskirts of Viridian City looked exactly the same to her. She'd lived there her entire life, so there was no doubt in her mind where they were. Unfortunately, though, it wasn't where she had intended to be at all. Maybe she'd been told wrong about where her dad was when he found out about her, but that didn't seem right either. "But I don't know what we're doing here either."

"Maybe it didn't work," Ben shrugged. "Maybe it just teleported us."

"No! It has to work!"

There was no way the locket would work the first time, and then suddenly stop working the next time she used it.

Before Charlie or Ben could say anything else, they heard voices behind them. Scrambling to hide, Charlie quickly climbed up a nearby tree, while Ben dove into the nearest bush. And as the two of them peeked through their hiding spots, they both gasped in shock when Ash, Misty and Brock stopped in the middle of the for in the road.

While Charlie and Ben were caught off guard, Pikachu was ecstatic. "Pikapi!" He shrieked from Charlie's shoulder. Trying to make a run to reach Ash, he was stopped mid air when Charlie grabbed him and held him back.

"No, Pikachu!" she hissed, making sure to keep her voice low as not to attract attention. "Pikachu, stop!" she pleaded with the Pokemon as it struggled to break free in her arms. Regardless of the fact that they were in the past, Pikachu wanted nothing more than to feel the embrace of his beloved trainer. "Pikachu, you can't. You have to stay here." With one last final effort to calm Pikachu down, Charlie pulled Pikachu tight against her chest. "I'm sorry," she apologized, feeling really bad at what she had to do to keep Pikachu calmed, "but he can't know who we are, Pikachu."

"Pikachu-Pi!" he called out through the tank top, this time trying to attract Misty's attention. "Pikapi!"

"Please, Pikachu," Charlie begged. "I don't know if you understand me, but remember this isn't the future. You can't go see my dad; it'll mess everything up. Please, Pikachu, I don't want to have to put you in your Pokeball, but if it'll keep you from running after him, I will. I know you don't like that, so you have to promise me you'll stay with me."

Lowering his ears, Pikachu looked over at Ash and Misty, a longing look on his face. He wanted to be with Ash so bad, but for some reason he wasn't quite getting, Charlie wasn't letting him. He knew he could ignore her and run over to Ash, but she had given him the ultimatum. Either he stayed with her, or he was going in the Pokeball. Turning back to Charlie, Pikachu slowly nodded his head in agreement, climbing back onto Charlie's shoulder.

"Thanks, Pikachu, and I'm sorry," she apologized once again. "I promise you that you'll get to be with my dad."

Thankfully for Charlie, Ash, Brock and Misty seemed too focused in their own world to notice Pikachu.

"Guess I'll be going this way," Misty told Ash and Brock. Her hands were resting on the handlebars of her bike like she was about to hop on and take off any second. Despite this action, though, there was hesitance in her voice.

"Yeah," Ash agreed, his voice sounding just as unexcited as Misty's voice.

"Take care, Ash," Misty replied, a friendly smile on her face. If one looked closer, though, they could see in her eyes that she wasn't very happy to be saying those words.

Nodding, he replied, "You too, Misty."

As Charlie watched, she noticed that her dad and Misty seemed to completely forget the fact that Brock was beside them as they stared at each other. It was as if they were waiting for the other to make a move or say something. If you asked her, though, it seemed like they were waiting for the other to change their mind about the whole leaving thing.

"Will I see you again?" Misty finally asked.

"You will," he replied, assuring her wish a smile. And in case she didn't believe him, he added, "I swear."

From his hiding spot behind the bush, Ben held back his urge to jump out and yell at Ash and Misty. "I swear, you could practically cut the sexual tension between those two with a knife," he muttered rather angrily under his breath. He wasn't a romantic, but even he could tell that Ash and Misty were hoping for more than just a staring contest. "I give those two five more seconds before something happens."

After that, their intense stare continued on until Brock suddenly threw his hands in the air yelling, "Hold everything!" Snapped back to the reality of the world around them, Misty and Ash jumped before turning to see what Brock was freaking out about.

"Damn him!" Ben cursed under his breath. "They were sooo close. He just ruined everything."

"What's gotten into you, Brock?" Ash asked, giving his friend an incredulous look.

And as if he hadn't just freaked out, Brock bounced back to his demeanor of being the wise one. "Actually," he told them in a voice that sounded like he was about to correct them on something they had said incorrectly, "I also have to go back home right away." Continuing to watch, Charlie quickly assumed this was the first time her dad and Misty were hearing about this, because the reaction on their faces were ones of shock and bewilderment. Brock, however, didn't seem phased at all. "I got an e-mail saying I had to go back and take care of same errands and stuff, and I almost forgot."

_How do you forget you had to go home when it was pretty clear you and your friends were parting ways?_ Charlie wondered to herself.

"How could you forget something like that?" Ash asked, echoing Charlie's exact thoughts.

Embarrassed by his pretty stupid mistake, Brock chuckled nervously. "Uh…I'm not exactly sure."

"Maybe because you didn't want to leave?" Misty shot back, nailing the problem spot on. After traveling with people so long, it was hard for Brock to imagine leaving his traveling companions.

"Probably," he replied, even though it was pretty obvious it was more than just probably.

"I know, Brock. I understand," Misty assured him.

To Charlie's surprise, her dad didn't say anything in response. Instead he looked as if he was thinking hard as he stared at Misty.

An eerie silence fell upon them as they all stared at each other, waiting for someone to say something or make a move. For someone who was watching what was going on, Charlie couldn't help but feel this was one of the most awkward things she'd ever seen. It was like watching a movie where the entire time all she did was hold her breath, waiting for something to happen. And just when she thought something might, someone backs down before they follow thorough with what they were going to do.

Finally, after what felt like hours of them just standing there, Brock sighed. "Well, I guess this is where we split up," he told them, a hint of remorse in his voice. Knowing she could no longer stand there, Misty hopped on her bike and directed it toward the path that would lead her to Cerulean City.

Before she could get far, though, she turned back, still having more to say. "Are you sure you'll be okay without me, Ash?" Charlie knew she'd never experienced what Misty was going through, but she found herself feeling bad for her and feeling anger toward her dad. Couldn't he see that she didn't want to go? That she was waiting for him to say yes so she could use it as an excuse for not having to leave? She didn't want to them to get together now, but that didn't mean they had to stop traveling together.

"I'll be fine," he replied, his voice sounding like he was getting annoyed with her for constantly asking him something.

_He's so clueless_, Charlie sighed to herself.

"See you then," Brock replied.

"Goodbye," Misty added, the pain and sadness clearly evident in her voice.

"So long."

With that said, Brock and Misty departed down their respective paths, leaving Ash to stand in the center of the road all by himself. While Charlie really had no connection to her dad at this point in his life, it was really weird for her to see him standing there all by himself. Granted, Pikachu was there with him, but being alone was something she would never use to describe her dad. He was always surrounded by people, and she could tell the sudden feeling of being alone, after years of traveling with people, was and odd feeling for him. She wondered if it even scared him a bit.

After some time had passed, Ash started to speak, saying the words he had wanted to say to his friends the entire time. "Misty, thank you. And Brock…I know that there's no way I could have ever…" Lowering his head so the brim of his hat would cover his eyes, the words he wanted to say seemed to be lost. Charlie knew her dad could get pretty emotional at times, but he had never been someone who really opened up about the way he felt. While she was sure he wished he had the courage to say those words to his friends before they left, she knew he wouldn't have.

"Go on," Brock suddenly piped in.

"Huh?" Ash lifted his head, sure he was dreaming about hearing Brock say something. When he looked up, though, not only Brock, but also Misty, were standing in front of him, impatient looks on their faces.

"If you have something to say Ash, then say it," Misty added, her hands on her hips as she leaned in closer.

"Yeah, we're all ears," Brock added, mimicking Misty's impatient stance as he folded his arms across his chest.

When it finally dawned on Ash that this wasn't a dream and that his friends were actually standing in front of him, he suddenly jumped back. "Why are you creeping up on me like that?" he demanded to know, still freaked out about them being there. Although, Charlie speculated he was more freaked out about them having potentially heard what he had intended to keep private.

"Sorry," Brock apologized. Pulling out what looked like a mini picnic basked, he handed it over to Ash. "I forgot to give this to you-something to eat. A lunchbox picnic." Using the other hand, he pulled out a fork and a spoon and rested them on top of the lunchbox. "With matching cutlery."

"And this-" Misty added, lifting her hand that had a pink and yellow handkerchief resting in it, "-makes it easier to carry."

"BS," Ben quietly called out. "That isn't just meant for making it easier to carry."

"Misty…you guys," Ash fumbled over his words, not knowing how to respond.

Using the handkerchief, Misty tied it around the lunchbox, securing it with a sturdy knot on the top. "Here," she said, taking it from Brock's hands and gently placing it into Ash's hands.

Like before, Ash just stared at the lunchbox, not knowing what to say or how to react. Instead, he cringed, turning his head away from them. "I guess you guys should go now, huh?" he yelled, choking over his words. He was about to cry, but he didn't want Misty and Brock to see him when the tears finally fell.

"Okay," Misty kindly answered back. "Take care."

"We'll miss you," Brock added, indicating that this was their final goodbye.

For a few minutes, Ash watched as his friends disappeared over the horizon.

Feeling he had waited long enough, Pikachu leaped off Charlie's shoulder. As she went to stop him, though, she felt herself fall forward. In a split second, she was falling out of tree and through the air. Reaching out her arm as a last attempt, she braced herself for the impact with the ground, but luckily she managed to grab a tree branch just in time. Now, however, she was stuck dangling on a tree branch, fully exposed to the one person she was trying to hide from.

"Uh oh…" Ben muttered from behind the bush he was hiding in. In an instant, he was running out of the bushes to try and catch Charlie before she fell.

Seeing Charlie stuck on the branch, Ash raced over to see if she was okay. "I'll help you! Just wait a second, okay?"

"You know what? I think I got it. It's fine," Charlie quickly replied. Pulling one hand off the branch, she let it fall to her side as she attempted to grab a Pokemon from her belt. _If I can just reach…_Before she could reach her Pokemon, she felt her other hand slip. "On second thought, maybe not!"

"Just hang on!" Ash assured her. _I'm hanging alright…_Releasing his Bayleef, Ash instructed it to use Vine Whip to pick Charlie up and set her on the ground. Once she was safely on the ground, he ran over to her to see if she was okay. A bit worried that he had made her fall, Charlie's Pikachu wondered over to see if she was okay. "What were you doing in that tree?"

"Pikapi!" Charlie's Pikachu cried, leaping into Ash's arms. Snuggling closer to him, Pikachu rubbed his head against Ash's arm.

"How do you know my name?" Ash asked, completely confused. And even more confusing, he couldn't help but notice this Pikachu looked very similar to his own, but just older. Turning toward Charlie, Ash found himself furrowing his eyebrows, confused by the way she looked. While it seemed farfetched that this was his Pikachu, there was something about the girl that stuck a nerve in him. He could have sworn he'd seen her before. True, he'd seen a lot of people since starting his journey, but he couldn't help but feel that this girl was slightly more important than the other people he had met. Looking at he some more, his eyes widened in surprise as it finally dawned on him.

"You're the Ho-Oh girl!" Narrowing his eyes at Charlie, he asked, "What are you doing here? Have you been following me around like a streaker or something? Is that why you were in the tree?"

"No!" Charlie snapped back. Of course it was true, but she was hoping she could convince her dad otherwise. "I don't even know you!" A flat out lie, it was her only hope of getting out of this without too much damage. "And it's stalker, not a streaker!"

"Yeah…but I'm sure of it!" he yelled back at her, refusing to give up on his hunch. "You were there when I woke up after the Spearow attacked! You had a Pikachu, and you told me what that Pokemon I saw was."

"I'm not who you think I am…"

"Yes you are! Your name-I remember it was a boy's name! It was..." Taking a moment to wrack his brain for the girl's name, Ash refused to give up. He knew he had met this girl before, and while he wouldn't normally care too much about it, what bothered him was that the girl was denying she had ever met him. "Charlie! You're name's Charlie, and you said your dad gave you that name."

With that said, Charlie knew this was the time to run. Standing up, she grabbed Pikachu and quickly started to walk the other way. If she stayed there any longer, her dad might uncover her secret, and then maybe even how she was related to him. Plus, the longer they stayed there, the more likely it was that Pikachu would do something to blow their cover.

Snatching Ben's arm, Charlie shut her eyes and wished upon the locket. "Take us back to the present time." With that said, she opened her eyes and started running away from her dad and toward town, dragging Ben with her. Since it took the locket a little time to react, it would give her enough time to run away so they wouldn't be around the others.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Ash yelled at Charlie. Other than the fact that Charlie had denied ever knowing him, there were other things about her that seemed rather odd to him. Most importantly, it'd been a long time since he had seen her, and yet she didn't look any different or even any older. If she was human-which he was sure she was-wouldn't she have at least aged a bit in the time he had last seen her? "Tell me what's going on! Why do you keep lying to me?"

"I'm leaving," Charlie yelled over her shoulder. The less contact she had with her dad the better.

"You can't leave!" Ash yelled some more. "You haven't answered my question!"

When she ignored him, he stared chasing after her. And since Charlie was walking, her dad easily caught up to her and grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, wildly moving her body to escape. "I don't know who you are, okay? And I'm not who you think I am. Just leave me alone!"

"But you look just like me," Ash countered, that being the thing that confused him the most. "And your Pikachu knows my name and looks like mine!" Ash had experienced some freaky things happening to him, but Charlie looking like him and having a Pikachu that knew his name seemed too coincidental to him. And while there was no doubt in his mind that this was the girl from the first day of his journey, Ash had another feeling that this girl had a greater connection to him. "Please, just tell me something."

As much as it pained her to leave her dad hanging like this, Charlie knew she couldn't tell him the truth. "You want to know something? Fine!" Giving one last final tug as she ripped her arm out of her dad's grip. "Next time, think twice before you keep things from friends!" After that, Charlie pushed past her dad and ran.

This time Ash didn't chase after her, too shocked by what she had told him. He didn't even know what she meant. He'd never keep things from his friends. Not about to stop and wait for her dad to ask questions, Charlie prayed the locket reacted to her wish soon. And just as she turned another corner, the blue light shot out of the locket, engulfing the area around her. Coming to his senses, Ash tore off after Charlie, but it was too late.

Coming to a skidding halt, Ash watched in confusion as the girl he had been chasing after suddenly vanished in a blue light. "Something's not right, Pikachu," Ash told his Pokemon. "I don't know if we'll ever see her again, but if we do, next time I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

OOOO

"Charlie…" Ben finally spoke, a bit hesitant to even say anything more. After landing back in the Viridian Forest, Charlie hadn't said a word to him or Pikachu. Instead, she'd just started walking back toward Viridian. "About what happened…It's going to be okay. I know it doesn't seem that way, but…"  
"Shut up!" she snapped, causing Ben to jump. While he had hoped she would respond, he hadn't expected her to start yelling. "This is all your fault! If I hadn't talked to him, this never would have happened!" The anger and frustration now slowly starting to bubble up, she turned on Pikachu. "And Pikachu! How could you? I told you not to go near my dad, and what did you do? You just ignored me and did whatever the hell you wanted!"

Never having heard Charlie yell at him, Pikachu suddenly stopped where he was, lowering his ears as he watched her go. He knew just like Ash, they could get mad at him for ignoring him, but not once had Ash ever yelled at him like that. Seeing Pikachu shrink down in fear that Charlie might hit him, Ben frowned down at him before turning back to Charlie, furious she would yell at Pikachu like that. He could see how she maybe had a logical reason for being mad at him, but Pikachu had done nothing wrong.

"That's BS and you know it, Charlie!" Ben shot back, refusing to let Charlie blame him or Pikachu for what had happened. Unable to just sit there and ignore him, Charlie stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. "And before you go and blame anyone else for what happened, need I reminded you that it's_ your_ fault your dad remembered your name. _You're_ the one who told him who you were-not Pikachu, and not me!

"I know!" she screeched, stomping her foot in anger. Clenching her fists, she kicked a rock as hard as she could, sending it flying into patch of grass. Of course she knew it was her fault! She hated herself for being so stupid and careless like that. Granted she didn't know what the locket had done when it sent her to the day her dad started his journey, but she should have been more careful in what she had revealed to him. Now that information was coming back to bite her, and because of it, she had changed yet another part of the past. The full consequences of this change were unknown to her, but she had a feeling somewhere along the way someone would connect the dots. With this in mind, getting her dad back was even more crucial. "Look, it's too late to do anything now, so tomorrow we are going through with the original plan."

"Seriously?"

"We're running out of time, Ben!" she shouted, her voice straining under all the stress she was under. "We have to change things before we accidentally get sent somewhere else and run into my dad again."

"But-"

"Meet me at the training center tomorrow morning," Charlie told him.

With that said, Charlie walked off once more, her mind swirling with all the possible things they had just changed.

OOO

"Everyone's gone, Pikachu," Ash remarked as he and Pikachu sat on a tree branch, observing the landscape of Pallet Town. He'd parted ways with Misty and Brock only the day before, and he'd just ran into Gary who had also been on his way out. And even the girl he had nicknamed the Ho-Oh girl was gone, and he had no idea where she might show up next. "Not sure I like being alone."

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu suddenly cried, pointing toward the sky.

Glancing up Ash saw something sparkly in the sky, as it made its way through the clouds. He wasn't sure what it was, though, since the clouds obstructed his view. When he realized what it was, however, he was very alert.

"Ah! Look at that!" he cried, as the mysterious object became visible. Scrambling to stand up, he balanced himself against the tree so he wouldn't fall. "It's Ho-Oh!"

Even Pikachu was surprised to see the legendary Pokemon floating through the sky.

"I know where it's headed," Ash told Pikachu. "It's going to the Hoenn Region."

"Piiika?"

"That's where all of those Pokemon I've never seen before are, and all of the battles that I'm destined to fight in."

"Pikachu!"

"I bet I'll run into that girl again, too," Ash contemplated. "I still have to figure out what she meant. I'd never lie to my friends, Pikachu, so I don't know why she's acting like I did."

He wondered if it was a sign that not only would he encounter new Pokemon and battles in the Hoenn region, but also if he followed Ho-Oh, he'd run into the girl again. Just like how she looked like him and how her Pikachu knew his name, seeing Ho-Oh only a day after running into her couldn't be just a coincidence. And this wasn't the first time he'd seen both the girl and Ho-Oh in less than twenty-four hours. He believed it had to be some sign that they would meet again. And when he did see her again-he was confident he would-she would appear just like Ho-Oh did: when he least expected her to be there.

* * *

**I know this may not have a whole lot of action, but I wanted Ash to see Charlie in the past like I did with Alto Mare chapter. Hopefully, this time around it makes more sense why Charlie would end up where she did. Next chapter will be completely new-we're no longer editing bugs in old ones. Hooray!-and Ash (Joey) will run into a familiar face...Who should it be? **

**Other note: This is completely random, but I've gotten a few requests to see if someone could possibly draw Charlie. I am no good a drawing-I promise-so if anyone would like to give it a shot, let me know. **


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN: If this chapter is the first one you've received an e-mail about since the note about changing the story, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER! Please skip back to Chapter 5 and read that first. It was added to the story, and if you don't read it, you'll be pretty confused about this chapter. Basically, if you don't know about the big addition to the story, then go back and read Chapter 5. **  
_

* * *

_Chapter 8_

* * *

_A Caterpie may change into a Butterfree, but the heart that beats inside it remains the same._

_-Brock_

Since they lived on different ends of the town, Charlie and Ben had parted ways, leaving Charlie to walk home alone. The more she thought about it, though, the more she decided that walking home alone wasn't a good idea. After everything that had happened these past two days, she was growing more and more anxious. All she wanted to do was save her dad by reversing what he had done in Celadon. But fate wasn't happy with her changing things and decided to mess with her in return. First, it'd turned her best friend against her, and then it had sent her to the wrong part of time and caused her to run into her dad, who was relentless about finding out who she was. She didn't ask for much, so why couldn't she just have her dad? Couldn't fate see how having her dad back would fix everything that had gone wrong before?

The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she got, and the more her emotions grew. She could feel the tears burning in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She was stronger than that. Plus she didn't want to come home and her parents see her eyes all red from crying. If they saw her, they would definitely question her about what was upsetting her. But it wasn't fair. She'd been given this once in a lifetime chance to get her dad back, but everything that could go wrong, was going wrong. Tomorrow had to be different; otherwise, she didn't know what she would do.

On the other hand, though, she needed someone to talk to; she needed someone she could trust not to say anything. If she could just talk to someone and get their opinion, or maybe even just vent to them, she felt it would help her out. The only people she could really talk to, though, were Grayson and Misty. But Misty couldn't know what Charlie was doing because she feared Misty would try to stop her. And while Grayson already knew what was going on, he'd already made his feelings about the topic pretty clear. Despite this, however, she couldn't deny the fact that Grayson was the best person, and that if she just talked to him, maybe he would listen. Plus, she wasn't trying to save her dad the same way he thought she was. She'd taken his advice and tried to find a less dangerous way. Maybe if she told him that, he'd be more understanding and more willing to help.

Deciding that she'd go and try to talk to Grayson once more, Charlie quickly glanced at her watch. Seeing that it was 1:45, she picked up speed, hoping to make it to the university before Grayson left.

OOOO

Following the way the woman at the main office had told him, Ash wound his way around buildings in search of the one where the architecture classes were held. Since he'd been nearby-he'd ended up falling asleep in his old apartment, so he hadn't really gone anywhere-he figured it would be better if he met Grayson at the university. The only problem with this, however, was that he had no idea what building Grayson would be in. The area the woman had told him to go to was known as the arts area, but that also meant that it had other classes other than those for architecture. With this in mind, Ash frantically searched the area for somewhere he could easily spot Grayson when he went to leave.

As he passed by one building, however, he spotted Charlie sitting on the front steps of the building. Ash figured that she wasn't just sting near that building for no reason; she must know that this was where Grayson currently was. Seeing as this was his best bet in finding Grayson, he slowly approached her.

"Hey, Charlie!" Hearing her name, Charlie lifted her head to see who was calling her. Seeing Joey standing at the bottom of the steps, she greeted him with a simple wave of her hand. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"That's fine."

Walking up the steps, Ash sat down next to Charlie. He expected her to say something else to him, but she remained quiet. It appeared as if she had her mind on other things, as she went on to act like he wasn't even there. Pikachu, however, noticed Joey's arrival and crawled out of Charlie's lap to sniff him over. Eager to be able to hold Pikachu once again, Ash reached out and grabbed Pikachu off of Charlie's lap.

This action seemed to bring Charlie back to life.

"Hey! Be careful! Pikachu doesn't like when…when…" Charlie's voice trailed off when instead of shocking Joey like she thought Pikachu would, the Pokemon sighed in happiness as Joey scratched his ears. She'd never seen Pikachu react this way with a complete stranger before. "Wow…"

Ash just laughed, knowing why Charlie was so shocked by Pikachu's reaction-or in this case, lack there of. "See? No need to worry. Right, Pikachu?" Ash asked as he continued to scratch Pikachu. Although he wasn't showing it, he was beyond excited to hold Pikachu in his arms once again. To him, it hadn't seemed like much time had passed, but he'd missed the comforting feeling of Pikachu's fur.

Hearing Joey's words left a small twinge of pain in Charlie's heart. Although she said Dawn's signature phrase on a daily basis, hearing Joey say it seemed to remind her of her dad. She knew it wasn't her dad, but Joey reminded her of him in more ways than she'd like to admit. He even looked a little like the person her dad had disguised himself as, but it wasn't a perfect match.

"My dad always used to say that," Charlie softly replied, not quite sure why she was even telling Joey this in the first place. Her dad was the last topic Charlie wanted to discuss, especially with a stranger. But here she was, revealing a personal fact about her dad to someone other than Grayson, Laney, or her dad's friends and family. Then again, there was something about Joey that left Charlie feeling as if she could trust him. Plus, it was clear Pikachu trusted him, and Charlie often based how much she could trust people on if her Pokemon trusted them. "No need to worry. One of the people he traveled with used to say it all the time, so I guess he just got it from them."

Without any clarification on Charlie's side, Ash knew exactly whom she was talking about. After hearing Dawn say the phrase practically ever day, it was no surprise he'd picked up the phrase and started using it. And when he'd had Charlie, he'd just continued using the phrase. It'd obviously stuck with her, too.

"That's cool," Ash remarked, trying to act as if he wasn't a bit nervous that Charlie was talking about him.

He'd been wondering how she talked about him, but he wasn't quite sure he was ready to hear it now. He knew she probably didn't have all good things to say, but the thought of her talking negatively about him was a bit unnerving. What if she said something that made him feel absolutely terrible about his actions?

"Yeah," Charlie replied. Sighing, she rested her head in the palms of her hand. "I picked up a lot of things from him."

"Like what?"

"His stubbornness," Charlie replied, a small smirk on her face. Ash couldn't help but laugh, too. "I've picked up other things from him, but if you ask me, that's one of the most important traits I got from him. I know people think it can be a negative trait, but stubbornness leads to never giving up, and perseverance leads to achieving your dreams."

"What are your dreams?" Ash asked her since they were somewhat on the topic of dreams. When she was little he remembered her telling him how she would be Pokemon Master, or at least a very good trainer. Maybe she wanted to be a Gym Leader since Grayson had mentioned if she ever did become one, he would build her gym. Had Ruby, May and Dawn led her to want to become a Top Coordinator? A Connoisseur? From what Grayson had shared with him, Charlie was doing fairly well, and she was very close to achieving her dream. "Based on your abilities as a trainer, I'll take a guess and say it has something to do with training Pokemon professionally."

"Change the past," Charlie replied matter-of-factly. _Change the past? What's that supposed to mean?_ As he wondered this, though, Ash felt Pikachu's ears droop and his shoulders slump. "That's my dream. If I can achieve that, maybe things will be okay again."

The more he sat there and thought about it, the more he slowly began to realize what Charlie was talking about. "You mean your dad?" Charlie nodded, confirming Ash's guess. "You're trying to stop his death?"

"Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but I just want things to be the way they were," Charlie replied. She knew she was revealing more than she'd ever told a stranger before, but she just had this feeling that Joey could be trusted again. Plus, sometimes talking to a complete stranger could help you get a perspective on things that someone you knew couldn't provide. "My life isn't terrible. In fact, if you ask me, it's a lot better than it could have been. People lose parents and other family members every day; I know I'm not unique in any way, but I can't help but want things to go back to the way they were."

Charlie took a second to gather her thoughts before continuing on.

"I know I'm not the only one either. His friends, his family, his Pokemon-the world-all miss him so much. Sure, my existence helped make it easier for them to deal with his death, but I can never replace him. Take Pikachu for example," Charlie said, gesturing to the Pokemon sitting in Ash's lap, "I know he loves me, but he and my dad had a bond that Pikachu and I will never have. My dad wasn't just Pikachu's trainer; the two were best friends. It may sound dramatic, but when my dad died, I honestly think Pikachu lost a part of himself. My dad and Pikachu have been through so much together, and Pikachu can never forget that."

Ash glanced down at Pikachu with a solemn look on his face. Hoping to console his best friend, Ash gripped Pikachu tighter. He'd always imagined it would be hard on either of them if something happened to the other, but he never imagined Pikachu would be this affected by his death.

"What about you?" Ash managed to say. He could feel the emotions bubbling up inside him, but there was no way he could break down in front of Charlie. "I'm sure you're having a tough time, but at least you have your mom, right?"

"Ha," Charlie laughed, but Ash couldn't help but notice it sounded much more sarcastic. He was pretty sure there was a tint of disgust in her voice, too. "My mom…Sure."

Ash remembered Grayson telling him that Charlie and Ruby didn't get along, but it appeared as if the mere mention of Ruby annoyed Charlie. He had a feeling it had to do with her leaving and then suddenly reappearing, but he also wondered if there was more to the story. Maybe it had something to do with her marrying Gary. He could only imagine how hard it was for Charlie to go through something like that.

"Grayson told me she got remarried," Ash said. Out of the corner of his eye, Ash saw Charlie clench her fists as a flash of anger appeared on her face.

"Yeah," Charlie spat out. It took ever bit of her strength to stop herself from going into a rant about how she despised her mom's decisions, and how Ruby acted as if the past had never happened. Joey didn't need to hear it; he saw her relationship with Ruby the way the media had portrayed it to him: a happy mother and daughter. He didn't need to know the truth. "She married Gary when I was eleven. It was a bit of a shock at first, but I got used to it. Plus, I'd always liked Gary, so it wasn't as if I hated who she was marrying."

It was true that Ruby marrying Gary made it easier for her to deal with the marriage, but it would be an understatement to say it was simply a shock at first. For Charlie, the day Ruby and Gary announced they were getting married was pretty horrible. Granted, it wasn't as bad as when she'd found out about Ruby being pregnant, but it was still pretty bad. After finding out during a party at Professor Oak's lab, Charlie had escaped to a spare bedroom where Brock had found her sobbing on the bed. For the rest of the night, Brock had sat there with her, just listening to her ramble on about how it wasn't supposed to happen that way. How she was convinced Ruby no longer wanted to be a part of her life. But while when she was young she'd cared about Ruby being a part of her life again, as time went on and Charlie grew older, she cared less and less about Ruby being in her life. Nowadays, she dreaded seeing Ruby.

"Well that's good," Ash remarked.

"Yeah," Charlie reluctantly agreed. "I got a sibling out of it, too, so I guess maybe it wasn't as bad as it could be."

Ash's head shot up, his eyes widening in disbelief. "A sibling?" Grayson had never mentioned that Charlie had a sibling. _Gary and Ruby had a kid?_ The idea wasn't completely crazy, but it was the last thing Ash expected to hear.

Charlie turned to face him, tilting her head to the side. "Yeah, Adam. You met him at the training center this morning. He was the little kid hanging out with Grayson."

"Adam?" _The kid sitting next to Grayson was Charlie's brother? Adam was Ruby and Gary's son?_ He'd thought the kid looked familiar, and he'd even suspected that he was the child of one of his friends. He'd just never imagined he'd be right, or that the kid was Gary and Ruby's son. Although, it did explain how Adam's dad knew so much about Charlie. "Wow."

"Charlie? What are you doing here?" Hearing her name, Charlie whipped her head around to see Grayson standing a few feet behind her. "What's Joey doing here?"

Before he could be answered, however, Charlie hopped off the step and rushed over to him. "I'm glad I made it," she sighed in relief. "I was worried I missed you and that you already went home."

"No. I'm here," he replied. That was already pretty clear, though. Gripping his backpack straps a bit tighter, he started to get a bit nervous. The last time he'd seen Charlie she refused to talk to him. It would make sense why he was slightly nervous to see her here. "So, what's up? I take it you didn't come all the way here to just say hi."

"No. Actually, I was wondering if you had time to talk?" she admitted. Even though her and Grayson had known each other for years, she couldn't help but wring her hands in nervousness. Plus, sometimes when she talked to Grayson, her feelings toward him caused her to become nervous. "If not, I understand. I wasn't exactly very nice to you yesterday."

Ash felt slightly awkward as he sat there watching Grayson and Charlie talk. He couldn't help but think that they were talking about something personal. So, to not look like he was eavesdropping on their conversation, he turned the other way and pretended to watch the other students as he petted Pikachu.

Relieved that she wasn't here to yell at him some more, Grayson offered her a warm smile. Despite the argument they had the other day, it appeared as if things were starting to return to normal. All she'd needed was a little time to cool off, and it wasn't like he was mad at her. He'd accepted the fact he couldn't stop her; if there was anything he had been mad at her about, he'd forgiven her. "I always have time for you, Charlie," he told her. Hearing this, a small smile etched its way onto Charlie's face. "Where do you want to talk? I was headed home to meet Joey, but since he's already here…"

"I can leave and meet you back home," Ash offered. If Charlie needed to talk to Grayson about something, he didn't want to be the reason she decided to clam up.

"No, that's okay. I've got a better idea," Grayson quickly replied before Ash could leave. "It's pretty clear that Charlie needs some cheering up tonight, so we're going to go over to her house and hang out." Seeing that Charlie was a bit hesitant to agree to Joey and him coming to her house, he quickly gave her an offer she couldn't refuse. "We can order pizza, watch a movie-I'll even let you pick-play video games-I'll let you win! Whatever you want! We can even stop at the general store and get gross amounts of junk food!"

"You'd do that for me?" Charlie asked, slightly surprised at the lengths Grayson would go to help her cheer up. (She knew he was serious when he'd offered to let her pick the movie, knowing she would probably pick a chick flick.) She'd always known he was a good friend, but this only seemed to prove it. "Even after the way I treated you?"

"Hey, I wasn't exactly nice myself, so let's just say we're both at fault on this one and move on," Grayson offered. If they could put yesterday's argument behind them, he knew things would be better. "And trust me, you'll thank you when you feel much better."

Even though he had been invited to join Charlie and Grayson for their Friday night hangout, it was clear they were in their own little world, and that they had completely forgotten he was even there.

"Alright then," Charlie gave in, ready to give it a try.

Even she would admit she needed a distraction, if only for a little bit. After that, maybe she could return with a clear head and solve the problem with her dad. "Shall we make a stop at the store?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Grayson grinned back. "I'll race you there!"

"You're on!"

On the count of three, Charlie and Grayson took off down the road, completely forgetting Joey was still sitting on the steps. Charlie had even forgotten Pikachu, too.

Not knowing where Charlie now lived, Ash leaped off the steps in a panic. "Hey!" he called, racing after them. Not wanting to fall off, Pikachu leaped onto Ash's shoulder and held on tight. "Wait for me!"

OOOO

"Here we are!" Charlie announced as her, Grayson and Joey came to a stop in front of a house. "This is my house."

While her and Grayson headed toward the front door, Ash stayed back to just stare at the house. It wasn't because it was a big house, but because it was just so different to him. It was one thing to hear Grayson say Charlie lived in a house, but another to actually see it. He'd always dreamed that one day he would save enough money to buy a house for him and Charlie to live in together. Their apartment wasn't a horrible place to live in, but he wanted a house for Charlie to grow up in just like him.

A house could have a yard for her to run around in and play with his Pokemon. They'd have more room-not that they needed it-and Charlie would actually be in a neighborhood where she could ride her bike and hang out with her friends. And when she was older and started her journey, their house would have an extra bedroom for the friends she met along the way to stay in when they came to visit. And when she wasn't there, it'd be a place for his friends-when he finally told them about Charlie-to stay when they came to visit him because he was lonely without Charlie.

Thanks to the last people he'd ever suspect, Charlie had an actual house to live in and call home. If he ever finally revealed himself to Charlie and his friends, he'd have to thank Team Rocket for providing Charlie with the one thing he never could. And since he'd never seen it before, he could only imagine what it looked like inside. Although, now that he thought about it, he had to wonder how Team Rocket was able to afford a house when he never could. Weren't they always complaining about how they never had enough money?

"You coming, Joey?" Charlie called.

Glancing up, Ash saw Charlie standing in the doorway starting back at him. With her hand, she was holding door open for him, inviting him into the house. To Ash, however, she was inviting him to enter more than just her house; she was inviting him to enter the world she'd grown up in since he'd left. Like hearing about how she lived in a house, it was one thing to hear Grayson tell him about what Charlie's life was like now. To actually see for himself and learn from Charlie was an experience he knew he couldn't pass up. This time, he'd really get to see her for her.

"Yeah!"

Running over to the door, Ash walked through the entrance and into the house, Charlie close behind.

"I'm hooooommmmeee!" Charlie called in a singsong voice, shutting the door behind her.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu added from her shoulder.

"Look out," Grayson whispered to Ash. Not sure what he should prepare for her, Ash started to get a little worried.

Before he could ask Grayson what he needed to look out for, Ash heard the sound of footsteps running through rooms and in the direction of the front door. Even more terrified of what was about to come barging down the hallway, Ash closed his eyes, bracing himself incase whatever it was knocked him over.

"Totodiiiiillleee!"

Cracking open an eye, Ash saw his Totodile dive into Charlie's awaiting arms. Scrambling to reach her shoulder, Totodile flailed wildly until he managed to gain his balance on Charlie's shoulder. Continuing to dance in glee, Totodile began to nibble Charlie's ear, causing her to crane her neck due to the ticklish feeling it had. Ash just laughed, happy to know after all these years, his Totodile hadn't changed a bit. And just like Ash had remembered, his daughter was Totodile's best friend. Ash knew Totodile did love him, but ever since Totodile had met Charlie, the two had been inseparable. Unlike Ash, Charlie had the energy and the love of dancing needed to keep up with Totodile. Knowing this, he wondered if maybe that had been his reasoning behind leaving Totodile with Charlie. If he knew he was going to die, he'd want to make sure the two of them had each other.

"Charlie, is that you?" a voice called from somewhere in the room, causing Ash to freeze. In an instant, he knew whom the voice belonged to, but even though they were not going to harm them, he couldn't help but take a defensive stance. "We're in the family room!"

Kicking off her shoes, Charlie grabbed the plastics bags she had set down and started walking down the hallway, Totodile happily perched on the shoulder unoccupied by Pikachu. Ash followed her, but he stayed back a few feet, hesitant about what was awaiting him in the family room. Just knowing Jessie and James were there was enough to make him weary of what might happen. At the same time, however, he wondered how they had changed since taking on the task of raising his daughter for him.

Team Rocket raised his daughter. That was something Ash knew he'd never be able to wrap his head around. It was just too weird. He knew they weren't horrible people-they'd helped him out many times before-but he never thought they would do something like that for him.

"Charlie!" a voice squealed as the person it belonged to came crashing into Charlie, trapping her in a hug. Startled, Charlie was thrown off balanced, causing the plastic bags in her hand to come crashing to the ground. "I thought you'd never show up, but here you are! I'm so glad to see you!"

Even though it was years into the future, Ash instantly recognized the peppy voice, brimming with energy and happiness. Although not as peppy as Dawn's, it was still packed with excitement.

"Hi, May," Charlie greeted her dad's old traveling companion. She was still startled by May's presence, but she was still glad to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to visit you," May giggled. She found it funny how oblivious Charlie was being. "I figured you could use some cheering up. Plus, Drew had to go to some meeting out of town, and I was dying to come see you."

"Where are Michael and Rose?" Charlie inquired about May's four-year old son and two-year old daughter.

"Oh, they're with their uncle Max for the weekend," May replied, a small smirk on her face. "Although something tells me they will end up at their Grandma and Grandpa's by tomorrow."

Peeking over Grayson, Ash got a good look at May. She was the first of his friends that he'd encountered in the future, so he couldn't help but be very curious about how she had changed. To Ash's surprise, however, nothing seemed different about her. She still had the same brown hair, in the same style, and a bandana that had changed from green to blue. Her eyes were still the same deep blue, and she still had the cheery smile he'd always associated with her. She even had a pair of gloves.  
"Hi May," Grayson waved.

"Hey there, Grayson!" May replied, pulling her arms away from Charlie. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well," he replied, giving a generic response.

"That's good!" Turning her attention back to Charlie, she grabbed the girl's arm and started to drag her into the family room, firing off a stream of questions. "We have so much to catch up on! How's battling? Brock told me you work at the training center now. How's that going? Have you participated in any contest battles lately? Have you…"

"You okay?" Grayson asked Ash once May and Charlie had disappeared into the family room. "I swear I didn't know she was coming…"

"It's okay," Ash assured him, not wanting Grayson to think he was mad at him about May being here. "Really. It's just weird seeing her, that's all. I mean, even when I was alive, I hadn't seen her in years."

With that said, Grayson picked up the bags Charlie had dropped and carried them with him as he entered the family room.

"Hey, Grayson!" Daniel greeted him when she walked into the family room. Taking a second to glance at the bags they carried in their hand, Daniel smiled knowingly. "Ah, yes. Friday night. How could I forget?"

"Yep!" Grayson replied. "It couldn't have come at a better time, too. Charlie here could really use some cheering up."

"I see how it is," Christina teased, rolling her eyes in mock irritation. "If you ask me, it's us you should be cheering up. In case you've forgotten, this happens to also be the time we got stuck with the Twerp's twerp!" Daniel nodded his head in agreement. "I ask myself everyday why we agreed to take on such a crazy task when we could have just gotten Pikachu instead."

May just rolled her eyes. "Maybe because you'd never be able to catch Pikachu if you tried."

"Watch your mouth, Twerpette!" Christina warned her.

Ash was somewhat surprised. It'd been years since he'd heard Team Rocket refer to him as the Twerp, and he had to admit, it was comforting to hear something old and familiar when the world he now found himself in had undergone a lot of change. And, it indicated that Team Rocket still thought about him the same way they always had. It would have been weird for them to call him Ash. Even he didn't see himself that way in relation to Team Rocket.

"It couldn't be because you love me, could it?" Charlie smirked in response to Christina's question.

"Love a twerp?" Christina gasped, but she still had a tiny smile on her face. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Uh, guys. I hate to break up the stroll down memory lane, but we kind of have a guest," Grayson quickly interrupted, afraid Christina and Daniel might accidentally reveal more than they would want to. True, it didn't matter since Joey was really Ash, and Ash already knew everything about Team Rocket. To Christina and Daniel, however, Joey as a complete stranger whom they would never dare reveal their true identity to.

"Oh yeah," Charlie laughed. She'd almost forgotten that Joey was there with them. "Guys, this is Joey. He's a trainer who's been hanging out with Grayson for the day." Now aware that there was a stranger in their home, Christina, Daniel and their Meowth quickly changed their manner to the one they had developed in order to hide their true identity. "Joey, these are my parents, Christina and Daniel West." Gesturing to May, she added, "And this is May. She used to travel with my dad."

As Charlie stepped aside so her parents could see him, Ash got his first good look at the new Team Rocket. Unlike the disguises they had used to trick his friends in the past, Ash couldn't even tell that this was Jessie and James. If Grayson hadn't told him, he would have carried on as if these were two random strangers who had adopted Charlie. He would have never guessed they were really Jessie and James. The two had become their new identities, removing any noticeable traits that could give them away. Even their voices sounded nothing like them. Still, while it might be easy for them to change the way they acted toward him, it'd be hard for him to treat them like regular people. No matter how much they changed the way they looked, they would always be Team Rocket to him.

"But I thought you lived with your mom and Gary?" Ash asked, causing an uncomfortable silence to fall upon the room. Instantly regretting what he'd asked, Ash watched as May and Grayson twitched uncomfortably, while Jessie and James glanced the other way. "Never mind…I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that."

Ash felt stupid. Why would he ask something like that? Why couldn't he just pretend he didn't even notice this wasn't Ruby and Gary? Why couldn't he pretend like it didn't even matter? He was probably better off if he didn't open his mouth anymore.

"It's okay," Charlie finally spoke up, much to the surprise of the others in the room. "No need to worry," she assured him, a smile on her face. "Christina and Daniel were friends of my dad. My mom wasn't exactly around when my dad passed away, so Christina and Daniel took care of me while my mom was gone. When my mom returned, though, I chose to stay here with Christina and Daniel."

Although a slightly different story than the one Grayson had told him, it was good enough for Ash. He could fill in the blanks that Charlie had left out, and he could figure out on his own which parts she'd changed. Still, it was interesting to hear her tell the story. She'd neglected to state that Ruby had left, instead simply stating that she was gone. It left Ash wondering why Charlie would protect Ruby like that. He also couldn't help but notice that Charlie had referred to Team Rocket as his friends and not his nemesis.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all," Ash finally replied. Deep down, he had this burning desire to randomly start shouting of their mottos just to see how they would react. He restrained himself, however, knowing that doing such a thing would blow his identity to pieces. After all, just like Jessie and James, he too was trying to keep his true identity from the world. "Thank you for having me. You have a beautiful home."

It really was beautiful too. It wasn't overdone with decorations, but it was enough to make the house look nice but also like the people there didn't go around pretending like they didn't live there. Although slightly bigger and more updated, it reminded him of his own home back in Pallet. He really couldn't have hoped for a better place to have Charlie grow up in.

"Thank you. You're too kind," Christina replied, weirding Ash out even more. Jessie would never talk to him this way, so hearing her act all kind and hospitable was odd. Turning back to Charlie, she asked, "Shall Daniel, May and I relocate so you guys can use the living room?"

"Nah, we'll just stay here," Charlie replied. "You guys are more than welcome to join us if you want."

"Sure!" May eagerly replied.

"Sounds good to me," Christina replied.

Daniel nodded in agreement.

"Great! Well, I'm going to go order the pizza," Charlie announced. "Any requests, or is the usual okay?" Not sure what the usual was, Ash simply agreed with the other people in the room who seemed to want the usual. He'd pretty much eat anything, so he doubted the pizza would be something he disliked. "Alright. Grayson you want to come with me?"

"Uh…" Grayson stuttered. When Charlie gave him a look that seemed to say he better say yes, he quickly nodded his head in agreement. "Okay! Sure!"

"We'll be right back, Joey," Charlie said, clearly implying that he was not invited to order pizza with them.

Scrambling over to Charlie, Grayson followed her out of the living room. Seeing that Charlie was going to order the pizza, Pikachu leaped off Ash's shoulder to run after Charlie. He wanted to make sure she got extra tomato sauce for him.

"Guys?" Ash weakly called, once again panicked that he had been left behind. This time, however, he'd been left with May and Team Rocket. Once they left the room, Ash nervously turned toward May and Team Rocket. They were just staring at him, May with a warm and welcoming smile, and Team Rocket with incredulous looks. "Hi…"

OOOO

"So what's on your mind?" Grayson asked once they were in the kitchen. He knew there was no way he was there to help her order pizza, seeing as she was very capable of doing that on her own. Using his elbow, he nudged her side in a friendly manner. "You know? Besides Pikachu," Grayson joked, referring to the fact that Pikachu was seated on Charlie's head.

Charlie just shook her head, groaning in annoyance at his very lame joke. Even Pikachu responded with a face palm. For the most part Grayson had very positive and admirable traits, but one of his major flaws was his ability to make jokes. Sometimes his jokes were so bad, she couldn't even pretend to laugh. He enjoyed making lots of puns, too, and, unfortunately, one of his favorite puns involved her last name. He'd made the joke so many times that she'd memorized the facial expression he had just before he said it.

"It's the locket," she carried on. Hearing this, Grayson instantly changed his manner to a more serious one. If Charlie was willingly talking to him about the locket after what had happened the last time, then he had a feeling something wasn't right. And while it worried him that she was even using the locket in the first place, things going wrong worried him even more. "Ben and I tried to travel to the day my dad found out about me. I figured that would be an easier way than going against Team Rocket. I remember one of his friends mentioning that he felt if he had been in contact with his friends when he died, maybe he would have lived. I figured that if I could somehow travel to the day he found out about me, and then get his friends to follow him, maybe that would save him like he thought. But when I asked the locket to take us there, I wasn't specific enough, and it took us to a different time my dad, Misty and Brock split up."

"But I thought you were going to just go and fight Team Rocket?" He wasn't complaining that she had chosen this way to save her dad. If you asked him, he was relieved she had picked a much safer way. He just wasn't sure why she'd suddenly changed her mind.

"No," Charlie replied, shaking her head. "It's too dangerous like you said. Despite what you may think about me, I don't purposely put myself in danger when there's a safer option."

"For the record, I don't actually think that about you. I just happen to know how stubborn you can be when you have your mind set on something."

"Sure you do," she joked, but even she knew it was true. "But anyways, when we were back in time, after Misty and Brock left, Pikachu freaked out and tried to get near my dad. I tried to catch him, but I ended up practically falling out of the tree I was hiding in," she explained. From her head, Pikachu drooped his ears at the mention of how he'd almost gotten to be reunited with Ash. "Well, long story short, my dad obviously saw us, and he remembered me from the first day of his journey. He knows something's up, Grayson, and he wasn't going to let me go unless I told him why I looked like him, and why I had a Pikachu that looked like his."

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Grayson asked, a bit of panic in his voice. Even he knew how bad things could end up if Charlie told the younger version of her dad the truth.

"No. Thankfully, I got away, but I was lucky," she told him. "But if I see him again, he's not going to let me go until I explain to him what's going on." At this point, the tears she was holding back earlier threatened to fall once more. "I thought I was doing the right thing-trying to save him so we wouldn't all have to suffer anymore-but everything's going wrong! And on top of that, I'm supposed to correct some mistake of his, and I haven't even figured out what that is yet!"

Seeing that Charlie was staring to get worked up a bit, Grayson stopped where he was and turned to face his friend. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently squeezed them. "Hey, calm down. It's okay. There's no need to get all worked up," he tried to comfort her. "You'll figure it out. I'm sure of it."

Charlie only heard a little bit of what Grayson said, her thoughts more focused on trying to figure out how to make things right. As a single, yet powerful, thought went through her head, Charlie slowly raised her head, her eyes meeting Grayson's. "Grayson," she choked our, her voice cracking a bit as the tears started to slowly roll down her cheek, "what if I'm the mistake my dad made?"

"You know that's completely ridiculous, right?" he asked her. He believed it 100%, too. There was no way anybody would be evil enough to manipulate Charlie to go on a quest to get rid of herself. "Charlie, that's probably the most obscene thing I've heard you say."

"But people say it all the time, Grayson," she replied, her shoulders starting to shake a bit as she cried. "You've heard them. Every time I competed in some tournament, it's always, what if she wasn't here? Would Ash Ketchum have made it as Pokemon Master if he never had Charlie? What if they were right?"

Hearing this, Grayson started to boil up in anger. He wasn't mad at Charlie, though. It wasn't her fault the media was so critical of her. He knew she tried to tune out their criticism and what if questions, but even he knew it wasn't completely ignorable. It was a slow process, but clearly it was starting to take its toll on her; she was starting to actually believe everything they had said.

"Who? The stupid reporters and media who don't know the whole story?" he questioned her, a bit snappy in his tone. "Charlie, you can't listen to them. They just say that stuff to get ratings. I doubt anybody actually believes that, and you sure as hell shouldn't. You're stronger than that Charlie. You know the story; you know how much your dad loves you."

"I-I…" Charlie didn't know what to say in reply.

"Grayson's right you know," a voice stated a few feet away. Whipping her head around, Charlie saw Joey standing in the doorway, an embarrassed look on his face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I was trying to find the bathroom, and I couldn't help but hear what you said…"

Truthfully, Ash hadn't gotten lost on his way to the bathroom; he'd been on his way there when he heard what Charlie had asked Grayson. At first he didn't believe he'd heard the words come out of her mouth, but then he'd heard Grayson's response. Never did he ever imagine that he'd hear Charlie say something like that.

He knew one day she'd find out the truth about how he'd magically shown up in her life, but he never thought she'd think she was a mistake he'd do anything to take back. He didn't understand why, but it made him feel angry. He was mad at himself, and mad at Charlie that she would even think that about herself.

Since the day he'd first met her, he'd tell her everyday how he loved her and how she was the best thing that'd ever happened to him. Not once had he ever blamed her for him not being able to reach his dream, and not once did he ever think she was. But hearing her blame herself for him not reaching her dream? It made him wonder things like had he not done enough? Had he not told her he loved her enough times?

"See?" Grayson replied, gesturing toward him. "Joey barely knows anything about you, and yet even he knows that's a bunch of BS."

"Charlie," Ash called, a bit hesitant. He wanted to tell her so badly that he loved her and that she was the best thing that'd ever happened to him. He wanted to tell her as himself so she would believe him. But he couldn't do that quite yet. For now, he had to try and covey what he wanted to say without giving away too much, "You can't think that way. You can't control your dad's decision. He made it and there's nothing you can do about it. He chose to be with you so that you could grow up with your dad. Why can't you be happy about that?"

Grayson and Charlie stared at Joey, their mouths gaped open in shock. Never before had they heard a stranger be so direct with Charlie like that. Granted, Grayson knew it was really Ash talking to Charlie, but even he was surprised Ash would say something so blunt to Charlie.

"What if your dad never came? What if he found out about you and just ignored it?" Ash questioned, Charlie. He didn't intended to sound mean, but this was the only way Charlie might understand. After all, the reason he'd gone to be with her was so that she didn't grow up the same way as him. He thought she would be happy about that, but instead she was hoping she'd never been born so he could have a stupid title. "I doubt you'd be understanding about how he didn't come because of a stupid title. In fact, I bet you'd hate him for what he did to you. Is that what you want?"

"No," Charlie squeaked out, the tears slowly falling down her face.

She didn't want that; she didn't want it at all. Her dad was the most important person in her life, and she was thankful everyday that she'd gotten the chance to meet him. But as Joey had clearly shown, she wasn't doing a very good job of displaying that. In fact, right now she was acting anything but thankful. She sounded like a brat-a whinny, complaining, and unappreciative brat. If her dad were here, he'd be ashamed of the way she was acting. Her dad had sacrificed so much for her, so why couldn't' she be appreciative of what he'd done for her? Now she hated herself for a different reason.

"See? I knew you were smarter than that," Ash replied, a smile on his face. Deep down, however, he was relieved that Charlie didn't actually think that. "I bet you're more important to your dad than a stupid title any day. The title sure isn't going to hug him or make him smile when he's sad or needs cheering up."

Charlie sighed, unable to deny the fact that Joey was right. His friends told her over and over how much he loved her, and in the letter he'd written to her, he'd made sure she knew that he'd never take back being her dad so he could be the Pokemon Master. Still, there was one thing she'd always wondered about her dad. It been left unanswered, and it continued to bother her when people would talk about the importance she had in her dad's heart. If she was so important to her dad, why did he wait so long to introduce her to his friends? Why had he kept his past and the friends that were such a major role in his life from her? She doubted Joey could answer that one.

"Thanks, Joey," Charlie finally spoke up. Hearing this, Ash smiled back at Charlie. He was pleased that he'd been able to talk her out of thinking she was to blame for him not achieving his dream. "I guess…I guess I was wrong about you. You're not so bad after all."

"Uh thanks," Ash chuckled nervously. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment."

Charlie nodded wordlessly.

"Can we order the pizza now?" Grayson begged, the phone already poised in his hand. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."

"Oh, yeah!" Charlie had almost forgotten the main reason she and Grayson had come into the kitchen in the first place. Turning to Joey, she asked, "Is cheese and pepperoni okay?"

"Sure."

With this said, Charlie smiled. But hidden in the smile, Ash could see a deeper meaning than that she was happy he'd agreed; something had changed in the way she looked at him. Although in an odd way, he could see from her smile and in her eyes that he had gained her trust.

OOOO

As the credits rolled across the screen, Ash glanced around at the people sitting near him. At first he thought it would be awkward and nerve wracking to sit through an entire movie knowing that with one wrong slip, he could blow his cover. And on top of that, just knowing Team Rocket was a few feet away from him was odd no matter how much they had turned over a new leaf. By the end of the movie, however, it became clear that there would be nothing eventful happening; Ash couldn't help but be glad about this.

Next to him, Charlie was passed out on the couch, Grayson's shoulder being used as her personal pillow. Seeing this, however, Ash felt an overwhelming wave of sadness wash over him. When he was with Charlie, one of his favorite things was their Friday night ice cream and movie tradition. He'd loved getting to spend the time with her, but what he loved even more was when she'd curl up in his lap and fall asleep. It made him feel needed, and he liked how she turned to him for comfort. But the Charlie across the couch was much bigger and he'd missed getting to see her grow up.

Clenched tightly in her lap was a Cubone, who was also fast asleep. As stated earlier by Grayson, Charlie had caught the Cubone while traveling through the Orange Islands, and that Cubone had grown very attached to Charlie because of the similar past they shared. Jessie and James had already gone to bed, but May still remained, sitting alone in a seat, wiping away her tears. According to her, the movie had been very emotional. Then again, Ash recalled May always overreacting about things like that.

Glancing down at his own lap, Ash smiled upon seeing Pikachu all curled up and fast asleep. He could even hear the tiny snores of his beloved Pokemon as it breathed in and out. Despite having run off to be with Charlie earlier, Pikachu had instantly reclaimed his lap as his own once everyone sat down to watch the movie. And while Ash didn't mind that Pikachu was being so affectionate with him, he wondered if maybe Pikachu could somehow sense him. But it Pikachu knew it was in fact him, he'd made no acknowledgement of the fact.

"I really miss you, buddy," he whispered quietly as he stroked Pikachu's fur. He would have woken it up so he could move, but Pikachu looked so peaceful, he couldn't bear to interrupt his slumber. "I'm sorry I'm not with you anymore, but I want to thank you for taking care of Charlie for me. You did an awesome job." Pikachu twitched his ears as if he had heard Ash speaking, but he didn't open his eyes or get up. "I promise you that I'll figure out why I'm here, and I'll find a way to make it permanent so we never have to be apart again."

_I just wish I knew how…_

Ever since he'd woken up on Grayson's couch, he'd wondered why he was here, and why he hadn't shown up earlier. He couldn't even explain why he wasn't in the form of himself, but instead a teenage boy that seemed to be anonymous. He needed answers, but it appeared as if he hadn't gotten any or that he would anytime soon.

"Pikachu must really trust you," May commented as she observed the little yellow Pokemon sleeping soundly on Joey's lap. She'd never seen Pikachu react this way toward a stranger, especially after Ash had passed away. "You must remind him of Ash," she added, although the thought of her good friend caused a frown to appear on her face.

Seeing May's face made Ash's heart wrench. He hated seeing his friends upset, especially when he knew he was the cause of it. He wanted nothing more than to be able to comfort her and lift her spirits. She'd always been such a happy person that seeing her down in the dumps left him feeling helpless. If he could, he'd tell her everything; he'd reveal to her who he really was if it would bring that smile back on her face.

Deep down he knew he couldn't do that quite yet, however. Now wasn't the right time. He'd promised Grayson he wouldn't say anything. Closing his eyes, Ash let out a sigh of defeat. If only he could be someone he knew could comfort her. But who could comfort her other than him? Maybe someone like Brock.

When Ash opened his eyes, he saw Grayson staring at him with his mouth gaped open in complete shock. Puzzled why Grayson looked so shock, Ash scrunched his eyebrows. "What are you staring at?" he asked, but he quickly stopped short. This wasn't the voice of the boy he'd become; this voice belonged to Brock.

"Wah! You just turned into Brock!" May gasped, quickly covering her mouth with her hands. Glancing over at her, Ash saw that her eyes were practically popping out of their sockets, and she was all bunched up like she had attempted to leap out of her seat. "How'd you do that?"

_What's going on? _How had he magically become Brock? _What happened to Joey? How did this happen? All I said was that I wished I could be someone who…that's it! _It had to be it. Ash was positive. Knowing he couldn't very well comfort May as Joey, Ash had made a wish to be someone that could comfort her. He'd decided that Brock would be the best bit, so that had to be why he'd turned into him. It made no sense, and he had no idea how something like that could happen, but it'd happened. And with this in mind, he knew he had to find someway to become Joey again.

_I want to be that kid again…_

"WAH!" May screeched again, this time even more gob smacked about what she'd just witnessed. "You changed back! Who are you? What are you doing? If this is some kind of joke, I don't find it very funny at all."

When Ash just stared at her with a blank look instead of answering her question, May only got angrier. Knowing he had to get out of there fast, he quickly moved Pikachu to the empty spot next to him and stood up.

"Uh…I've got to go to the bathroom," he suddenly announced. Rushing out of the room, he made a beeline for the hallway. "I'll be right back."

"Hey! Wait a-" May tried to stop him, but she was cut off when he turned the corner and disappeared. Not about to give up, though, she turned her anger toward the unsuspecting Grayson. "Grayson," she growled, scaring him a bit. "What's going on?"

"Well…you see…" Grayson scrambled his brain, trying to think of some explanation he could give May. It proved rather difficult, however, considering he was having a hard time processing what was going on himself. "He's a Latios!"

"Latios?"

"Yeah!" Grayson eagerly agreed. "They can shape shift into humans. I found him when I was walking home the other day. I figure he was lost, so I've been trying to help him find his way back home."

Not sure she believe him, May folded her arms across her chest and furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought Latios can't talk?" she asked, recalling the stories of the Latias Ash had encountered.

"He learned how to speak human, I guess," Grayson shrugged. "If Meowth can do it, I'm sure that means other Pokemon can. Or he uses Telekinesis. He is a Psychic Pokemon after all."

"Fine," May growled in annoyance.

Unable to come up with facts that she could use to fight against Grayson's argument, May was forced to accept his answer. That didn't mean she wasn't a bit skeptical, though. She'd have to ask Max about it in the morning.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Ash stood in front of the mirror, trying to wrap his head around what had happened. He didn't actually see himself when he transformed into Brock, but he could hear his friend's voice coming out of his mouth. But how? He knew what had triggered the transformation, but he didn't know how it happened or why. And what did that mean about who he was? On the other hand, though, with his discovering of his new talent, Ash was left wondering if that meant he could transform into anyone. Knowing there was only way he could find out, he grinned from ear to ear.

_I want to be May. _

As he stared into the mirror, he watched as his body transformed into a clone of his friend who he had ran from in the family room. "Beautifly, stage on!" he whispered the words he'd heard May say a million times. Sure enough, his voice was an exact match to May's, and his face displayed the same expression that went on along with this phrase.

_Iris..._Seconds after saying this, his body transformed into the dragon master from the Unova region, but she was older looking than Ash remembered. "You're such a kid, Ash," he mocked himself in Iris's voice.

_Brock…Cilan…Dawn…Professor Oak…Gary…_

As Ash spoke each name, he watched his reflection, as it became each one of his friends. And each time he transformed, he found himself saying a famous line of his friends in their voice. "Smell ya later, Ashy Boy!" And while it was a bit freaky to think he had become his friends, his mind was already whirling with all the pranks he could play on his friends. He could act like anyone of them, and nobody would ever know. If you asked him, this was the greatest thing he'd uncovered since being here.

_Charlie…_

As the magical looking glow vanished, he found himself starting at the reflection of his daughter. Though, despite finding it odd that he'd turned into his friends, Ash found being Charlie slightly shocking.

"I want to be me," he whispered as he closed his eyes.

When he opened them this time, he could see the mirror, but he saw no reflection staring back at him. He thought maybe it hadn't worked, but then he realized that even if he didn't transform into himself, there should at least be a reflection of someone in the mirror.

Sighing, Ash went to rest his hand on the sink, but it went right through the sink like it was falling through air. Glancing at his hand, he saw it was a translucent blue. As Ash tried to figure out what this odd coloring indicated, it suddenly dawned on him just what he'd become. The translucent blue, the ability to move through things as if they weren't there-they all pointed toward one thing.

He was a ghost.

* * *

Next chapter: Charlie vs. Joey, and more time-traveling.


End file.
